Trump-Putin peace summit leaves five unanswered questions as ceasefire in doubt
Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin have concluded their highly anticipated peace summit without any notable outcome, as the two world leaders failed to broker an agreement - leaving a host of unanswered questions in their wake.
The two met in Anchorage, Alaska, today for what was projected to be several hours worth of closed-door negotiations between senior teams in a bid to hammer out a Ukraine ceasefire. But they both left empty-handed after just under three hours, with the summit closing abruptly following a joint press statement and both men boarding their respective planes bound for home.
Mr Trump, who conceded there was "no deal" in his own statement, has left more questions than answers after delivering vague remarks to gathered journalists.
What was the ' significant point' that couldn't be agreed on?
Mr Trump gave the most substantive answer to what happened behind closed doors when he addressed diplomats and members of the press, but still revealed very little as to what was said. He notably revealed that "many points were agreed to" in the closed-door meeting, adding that "one is the most significant".
He said: "We had an extremely productive meeting and many points were agreed to, there are very few that are left. Some are not that significant, one is probably the most significant but we have a very good chance of getting there."
While he spoke for a little longer, he never did elaborate on that point, with members of the public none the wiser as to what he meant after he and Putin split off without answering journalists' questions.
Will Trump go to Moscow?
Today's joint address concluded with a brief quip from Putin, who appeared to suggest another meeting in the future - this time on his home turf. Speaking after Mr Trump suggested they could meet again, he said: "Next time in Moscow."
The US President seemed discomforted by the suggestion, however, and was very non-commital in his response, telling his Russian counterpart the suggestion was an "interesting one". He said: "That's an interesting one. I'll get a little heat on that one, but I could see it possibly happening."
Neither Washington nor the Kremlin has committed to another meeting, with Mr Trump suggesting in an interview on Fox News that the ball is now in Ukraine and NATO's court.
Why did Trump not take questions?
Mr Trump famously enjoys speaking with members of the press, whether from the Oval Office or in conferences after major meetings conducted behind closed doors. But today was notably different, with the US and Russian Presidents notably departing the stage abruptly and without taking a single question.
The leaders had a taste of the kind of questions that would have been asked, with Putin quizzed as to whether he would "keep killing civilians" in Ukraine. He appeared to antagonise members of the press at several points by holding his hand to his hear and shrugging, before cracking a smile.
He may have wanted to avoid answering these lines of inquiry on stage and ruled out taking questions - but neither Kremlin nor Washington officials have said why they left before doing so.
How will NATO respond?
One question to which we will eventually get an answer is how NATO will respond to the meeting, with Mr Trump saying during today's conference that he planned to speak with representatives of the military pact after the summit.
He said: "I'm going to start making a few phone calls and will tell them what happened." World leaders typically release statements following conversations with Mr Trump, with Sir Keir Starmer, Emmanuel Macron and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte among the key figures likely to do so.
But we've already got an early taste of how the summit was received by former NATO officials, with the US' former ambassador to the organisation saying Mr Trump achieved "zero". Douglas Lute told the BBC Putin ultimately won, having come away "with the end of international isolation".
Why was the luncheon cancelled?
Among the billed features of the summit mentioned ahead of time was a luncheon between senior negotiators, which appears to have been ultimately ditched at the last second. These lunches are typically vital opportunities for strengthening diplomatic ties, and have been skipped in the past when frictions develop between officials.
A highly-anticipated lunch between Mr Trump and Ukrainian premier Volodymyr Zelensky was notably skipped earlier this year after their Oval Office meeting descended into a shouting match.
While the Anchorage summit was more publicly convivial, the lunch between US and Russian officials was skipped. Representatives from either party are yet to confirm as to why this was the case.
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