Watch: Putin pulls a face at journalist's question in viral Alaska summit moment
The moment quickly turned into a meme fest on Twitter, with one user posting, "Confused when asked real questions," and another joking, "Me pretending not to hear my coworker asking for help setting up the Teams meeting.""Putin speaks English, by the way," an anti-Trump group, The Lincoln Project, were quick to point out.There were mixed signals from the moment Putin landed in Alaska for what the Trump administration labelled the 'Pursuing Peace' Summit, held amid Russia's ongoing war with Ukraine.There were several moments when both leaders interacted without interpreters, leaving many surprised, as Putin has mostly been seen speaking to foreign journalists and leaders in Russian, at least in public.For example, Putin and Trump exchanged pleasantries on the red carpet laid out by the US President and even shared a few jokes, with no interpreters in sight.What drew the most attention, however, was Putin stepping into Trump's limousine on their way to the meeting — giving the two leaders a rare one-on-one conversation without interpreters or any aides present, apart from security personnel and the driver.However, what the two leaders discussed during the short drive to the meeting room remains unknown, adding to the air of mystery.Unsure of what the two leaders might have discussed, commentators and experts were quick to address the elephant in the room — that Putin has a firm command of the English language."I am a firm believer that whatever was said between Trump and Putin (whose English is good enough) privately in The Beast for several minutes without witnesses is the real reason for this whole last minute summit," Democratic commentator Julie Roginsky pointed out on X. "And I am not so sure it was just about Ukraine."Weighing in on Putin's grasp over English, former US ambassador to Russia, John Sullivan, cleared the air, while talking to CBS and said: "He's not as fluent in English as he is in German, he can converse with the German chancellor in flawless German. His English isn't quite as good, but he could have a conversation with the president in English that President Trump would understand."advertisementHowever, Putin dispelled any doubts about his grasp of English toward the end of their joint press conference. In a rare public display of the language, he invited Trump to Russia, saying, "Next time in Moscow?" The high-stakes Alaska summit between the two presidents ended without any agreement to halt the war in Ukraine — Europe's deadliest conflict since 1945, now in its fourth year.Trump said that he and Russian President Vladimir Putin made "very productive" progress but reached no final agreement after a nearly three-hour summit in Anchorage, Alaska, focused on the war in Ukraine.- EndsTune InMust Watch
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