US President Donald Trump didn’t follow through on his threat to walk out on his meeting with Vladimir Putin if he thought the Russian president was not serious about wanting to achieve enduring peace in Ukraine.
While he had given Putin a red-carpet welcome and several photo opportunities, Trump was circumspect in a 12-minute post-meeting statement, admitting that he failed in getting much movement from Russia.
As he often does, Trump used vague euphemisms, saying, “We didn’t get there, but we have a very good chance of getting there,” claiming the talks were “extremely productive” and “many points were agreed to.” He also accepted that progress was not made on “one big one,” which was likely a reference to the ceasefire in Ukraine.
Trump’s suggestion in the two days before the Alaska summit that he was looking to add Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to a second trilateral meeting with him and Putin did not pan out, as the two seemed to have agreed to no plans for future meetings.
Trump’s parting words to Putin, “I’ll likely see you again very soon,” elicited Putin’s playful, “Next time in Moscow.” Trump found the “interesting” response “possible” and “likely.”
As he said he would, Trump briefed reporters that he would be calling Zelenskyy and European leaders to bring them up to speed. “It’s ultimately up to them,” he said.
Two NATO sources said that plans for a call with NATO Allies were already being made for immediately after Trump left the stage, and that there were ambitions to have one in a few hours.
Putin, whom Trump complimented in his own words, did offer a willingness to solve the war in a manner that would accommodate the security needs of both Ukraine and Russia.
However, his assertions about the “fundamental threats to our security” posed by Ukraine and his assertion that any settlement “must eliminate all the primary causes of the conflict” made it clear he was not prepared to give up much of anything.
Putin stated, “I would like to hope that the agreement that we’ve reached together will help bring us closer to that goal and will pave the way towards peace in Ukraine.”
Obscure as it was, the joint appearance at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, both with the backdrop ‘Pursuing Peace’, made clear that Trump was not going to impose on Putin the ‘very severe consequences’ he mentioned earlier in the week if there was no progress toward ending the war.
The Russian leader, who has consistently thrown a spanner in the works for American presidents, seems to have managed to prolong the economic sanctions Trump has, from time to time, threatened in his stalled efforts at peacemaking. Not to mention, the visuals from his departure from Alaska are a lasting warmer welcome.
But Kyiv managed to avoid the worst-case scenario some supporters of Ukraine feared the most. That scenario being, a Trump and Putin joint presser announcing a deal to “end” the conflict, who then ramp up the pressure on Zelenskyy to sign the deal.
Putin’s interest in concluding a war on his terms has, for the time being, been put on ice. While the standstill showcased in Anchorage may also reflect the more in-line-with-NATO Trump, who seems to have been mending relationships with Zelenskyy post his Oval Office meeting disaster in February. Trump has, or at least appears to be, keeping his promise of trying to end the Ukraine war during the campaign and holding on to a deal.
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Yet, the applause Trump gave Putin while he was getting off the plane and the engagement Trump showed during the limousine ride with him showed excessive affection towards a war criminal and a leader who has internationally been labeled a terrorist for attacking Ukraine in 2022.
It is also important to note that Trump has been dissatisfied with Putin for months due to the tapering of the war, and has been continuously frustrated due to his ongoing escalation in recent months.
The Presidential Limousine meeting was initiated immediately after the announcement that the presidents would not be hosted privately and would be attending with 2 of their top aides and, instead, would be joined with an aide on each side.
As is typical for Trump, he formally invited the two aides, bringing with him the Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Special Envoy Steve Witkoff.
According to Leavitt, there would also be a meeting for lunch with more aides added, which did not happen. The aide was still present for the scheduled headline ‘Joint press conference with aides after the three-on-three meeting’.
Trump did not give the press any questions either, which is surprising due to his reputation for answering questions in casual settings beside world leaders in the Oval Office.
In under an hour, the two were in their planes; the first to take off was Putin, and then Trump, both heading to Alaska. source
