Putin calls Alaska meeting with Trump “timely and very useful”

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday described his first face-to-face meeting with former US President Donald Trump in over a decade as “timely” and “very useful,” highlighting that the two leaders discussed potential ways to end the war in Ukraine “on a fair basis.”

Speaking to senior Kremlin officials in Moscow, Putin said the meeting, held at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska, allowed for “direct negotiations of this kind at this level” for the first time in years. “We had the opportunity to calmly and in detail reiterate our position,” he said, emphasizing that the conversation was “very frank, substantive, and, in my opinion, brings us closer to the necessary decisions,” AFP reported.

The Alaska summit, which took place on Friday, lasted for more than three hours and marked the first time Putin set foot on Western soil since ordering the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Both leaders expressed positive views about their interaction, but declined to take questions from the press.

Trump described the meeting as “extremely productive,” noting that “many points” were agreed upon but stopped short of providing specifics. “We are not there yet, but we have made progress. There is no deal until there’s a deal,” he said. Trump also mentioned that only a few issues remain unresolved, with one considered particularly significant, though he did not elaborate further.

During the discussions, Putin reportedly told Trump he agreed with him that the Ukraine war might not have occurred had Trump, rather than Joe Biden, been in office when the invasion began in 2022. This statement underscored the differing perspectives of the two leaders on the geopolitical circumstances surrounding the conflict.

The summit drew international attention for its potential implications on diplomacy and the future of Ukraine, as world leaders and analysts closely watch whether these high-level talks could pave the way toward a negotiated settlement.