
Trump says he had 'very productive meeting' with Putin, but no deal reached
ANCHORAGE (Aug 16): United States (US) President Donald Trump said on Friday he had a 'very productive meeting' with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Anchorage, Alaska, but the summit ended without a deal on the Ukraine crisis, reported Xinhua.
The two presidents held a joint press conference after concluding their talks at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, the most populous city in the US state of Alaska.
Trump said they agreed on 'many points,' adding that the two sides made some headway, though no deal was reached.
Putin said he agreed that Ukraine's security should be ensured, and an agreement he reached with Trump would pave the way toward peace in Ukraine.
Standing side by side on stage for just over 10 minutes, both leaders indicated that progress had been made during their face-to-face talks, but no concrete deal was produced.
Putin said the negotiations took place in a 'constructive atmosphere of mutual respect' and that a personal meeting between the heads of state had been 'long overdue.'
'Everything that's happening is a tragedy for us and a terrible wound,' and Russia is sincerely interested in ending it, said Putin.
He stressed that efforts must address the 'primary causes' of the conflict and warned Ukraine and European countries not to 'throw a wrench in the works.'
Trump described the talks as 'extremely productive' and said 'great progress' had been made.
The meeting lasted about three hours. It was the first face-to-face meeting between the presidents of the two countries since 2021. – Bernama-Xinhua Donald Trump peace talks Russia-Ukraine war Vladimir Putin

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


The Star
an hour ago
- The Star
Hungarian opposition leader demands Russia refrain from interference
FILE PHOTO: Peter Magyar, leader of Hungary's main opposition Tisza party, delivers a speech at a party rally in Szekesfehervar, Hungary, July 26, 2025. REUTERS/Marton Monus/File Photo BUDAPEST (Reuters) -Hungarian opposition leader Peter Magyar has sought assurances from Russia that it will refrain from interference in his country's politics, saying there would be no scope for meaningful cooperation without respecting its sovereignty. Earlier this week, Russia's Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) published a statement describing Magyar as being loyal to "globalist elites" and alleging that the European Commission was considering "regime change in Budapest." Magyar, whose Tisza Party is ahead of Prime Minister Viktor Orban's Fidesz in most polls ahead of parliamentary elections due next spring, published an open letter to Russia's ambassador in Hungary, asking what was the intended effect of the SVR statement. "I demand clear assurances that the Russian Federation will refrain from any actions that could be deemed as interference in Hungary's domestic politics, including disinformation campaigns, cyber operations or the intimidation of politicians and citizens," Magyar said in the letter published on Facebook on Sunday. The Russian Embassy in Budapest did not immediately respond to emailed questions for comment. In power since 2010, Orban has been criticised by some fellow EU leaders for his government's warm ties with Moscow and opposition to military aid for Ukraine. Orban has also accused EU leaders of plotting to topple him. Magyar, a former government insider, has previously said he would strive for "pragmatic relations" with Russia, which supplies Hungary with most of its energy and is also involved in an expansion of its Paks nuclear plant. He said the SVR's statement showed Russia was trying to intervene directly to sway voters in Hungary, which is a member of the NATO military alliance but which under Orban has refused to send weapons to neighbouring Ukraine. "Hungary's sovereignty and the inviolability of our democratic processes cannot be negotiable. Adherence to these principles is the minimum requirement for any meaningful bilateral cooperation between our countries," Magyar said. (Reporting by Gergely Szakacs; Editing by David Holmes)

Barnama
2 hours ago
- Barnama
Woodlands Checkpoint Upgrade To Maximise JS-SEZ Potential
By Nur Ashikin Abdul Aziz SINGAPORE, Aug 17 (Bernama) -- The redevelopment of Woodlands Checkpoint, to be expanded to five times its current size, will improve cross-border connectivity and maximise the potential of the Johor-Singapore Special Economic Zone (JS-SEZ). Singapore Prime Minister Lawrence Wong in his National Day Rally (NDR) speech said that the redevelopment will ensure more efficient and secure clearances, as well as shorter wait times and smoother traffic. bootstrap slideshow 'The SEZ has great potential for both sides to tap on complementary strengths and grow together. To maximise this potential, we must improve cross-border connectivity,' he said on Sunday. He said that today, the Causeway is the busiest land crossing in the world, which gets even more congested during weekends and holidays. To provide a long-term solution to this chronic congestion, the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) had previously announced it was redeveloping and extending the Woodlands Checkpoint (WCP) in phases over the next 10 to 15 years. Under Phase 1, ICA will build an extension of WCP at the Old Woodlands Town Centre, with construction work for this phase scheduled for the third quarter of 2025. This extension, among others, will include new automated clearance facilities for cargo vehicles, arriving cars, and arriving motorcycles. Wong also informed that the Johor Bahru–Singapore Rapid Transit System (RTS) Link, which will connect directly to Woodlands North MRT Station in Singapore, is set to ease cross-border travel.


New Straits Times
2 hours ago
- New Straits Times
Plastic pollution deal now appears adrift
THE collapse on Friday of a sixth round of UN talks aimed at curbing plastic output has dimmed hopes of tackling a key source of pollution and left many advocates of restrictions pessimistic about a global deal during the Trump administration. A three-year global push to reach a legally binding treaty to curb plastic pollution choking the oceans and harming human health now appears adrift, participants said. Many states and campaigners blamed the failure on oil-producers, including the United States, which they said hardened long-held positions and urged others to reject caps on new plastic production that would have curbed output of polymers. Debbra Cisneros, a negotiator for Panama, which supported a strong deal, said the United States, the world's number two plastics producer behind China, was less open than in previous rounds conducted under Joe Biden's administration. "This time they were just not wanting anything. So it was hard, because we always had them against us in each of the important provisions," she said at the end of the 11-day talks. Anti-plastic campaigners saw little hope for a change in Washington's position under President Donald Trump, who in February signed an executive order encouraging consumers to buy plastic drinking straws. "The mentality is different, and they want to extract more oil and gas out of the ground," said Bjorn Beeler, International Coordinator at International Pollutants Elimination Network (IPEN), a global network of more than 600 public-interest NGOs. The US State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment about its positions and its role in the talks. US delegate John Thompson declined to respond to questions from a Reuters reporter on the outcome. A State Department spokesperson previously said each party should take measures according to its national context, while Washington has expressed concerns that the new rules could increase the costs of all plastic products. The Trump administration has also rolled back various US climate and environmental policies that it says place too many burdens on national industry. Earlier last week, Washington also flexed its muscle in talks about another global environmental agreement when it threatened measures against states backing a proposal aimed at reducing shipping emissions. For a coalition of some 100 countries seeking an ambitious deal in Geneva, production limits are essential. Fiji's delegate Sivendra Michael likened excluding this provision to "mopping the floor without turning off the tap". For each month of delays, the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) said nearly a million tonnes of plastic waste accumulates — some of which washes up on the beaches of island states. Some participants also blamed organisers, the International Negotiating Committee (INC), a UN-established body supported by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP). A low point was a formal meeting an hour before the negotiations were set to conclude at midnight on Thursday which lasted less than a minute and was then adjourned until dawn, prompting laughter and jeering from delegates. "Everyone was in shock as no one understood," said Ana Rocha, Global Plastics Policy Director for environmental group GAIA. "It's almost like they were playing with small children." France's ecology minister Agnes Pannier-Runacher called proceedings "chaotic". Asked what went wrong, INC chair Luis Vayas Valdivieso blamed the rift between countries and called the negotiations complex. "But we have advanced and that's important," he said. UN provisional rules require all states to agree — a constraint that some see as unworkable, especially under a US administration that is retreating from multilateralism. "Consensus is dead. You cannot agree a deal where all the countries who produce and export plastics and oil can decide the terms of what the deal is going to be," said IPEN's Beeler. Some delegates and campaigners suggested introducing voting to break the deadlock or even for the UN-led process to be abandoned altogether. The WWF and others called on ambitious states to pursue a separate deal, with the hope of getting plastics-producing nations on board later. Two draft deals emerged from the talks — one more ambitious than the other. Neither was adopted. It is unclear when the next meeting will take place, with states merely agreeing to reconvene at a later date.