Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin have met in Alaska. After a rosy start, the summit had a very abrupt end

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6 hours ago

For little more than five hours, the leaders of Russia and the United States drew the world's attention to Alaska, only for their summit to come to an abrupt end and deliver nothing for Ukraine.
Donald Trump speculated wildly about what he would be able to achieve at this summit, at times saying he only had a 25 per cent chance of failure, that he expected a ceasefire today, and that the swapping of territory would be canvassed.
In the end, the two leaders didn't reveal the details of their discussions, but what was very clear was that they did not reach a deal.
The summit came to an abrupt end after a press conference that prompted more questions than the leaders permitted journalists to ask.
These are the key moments from the time Mr Trump met Mr Putin in Alaska.
The summit started with a red carpet rolled out across a tarmac and a reception Mr Putin surely is not used to receiving from his adversaries.
For the aggressor in a war, someone shunned by the international community and a man wanted by the International Criminal Court for alleged war crimes against Ukrainian children, Mr Putin looked very at ease as he strode across US soil to meet Mr Trump.
For a moment, Mr Trump stood and clapped.
As the men shook hands for several seconds and the world collectively held its breath, the leaders broke into relaxed smiles and American B-52s screamed overhead in a flyover, in a gesture typically used to honour guests.
Mr Putin is a formidable foe and a master tactician, so it's impossible to know his ultimate plan for this summit, but as he shook Mr Trump's hand, he appeared to be very happy to be there.
From there, the men climbed into Mr Trump's presidential limousine, the Beast, something Washington watchers said was a highly unusual move.
From the available video, it did not appear as if anyone else, including translators, joined them for the ride.
Analysts say Mr Putin has a level of English proficiency to hold a conversation with Mr Trump, and that this time in the presidential car was most likely very valuable.
These few minutes just off the runway at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson might have been just the beginning of the summit, but they were significant.
Especially when comparing Mr Trump's diplomatic equivalent of a warm embrace of Mr Putin with the treatment Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy received at the White House earlier this year.
Mr Trump had maintained he would be able to reason with Mr Putin and that he just needed to get into a room with him one-on-one.
And perhaps that moment did come in the back of the Beast, but the first phase of the summit was expanded to a three-on-three discussion, which saw each president flanked by two advisors.
Mr Trump had his Jack-of-all-trades special envoy, Steve Witkoff, by his side, as well as Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
Mr Putin was joined by Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and an aide, Yury Ushakov, who is currently serving as a foreign policy advisor.
There was supposed to be a lunch, as well as a second phase of discussion that included the broader delegation, in particular, trade and economic advisors.
It is not clear if these agenda items happened or were struck off.
On the flight to Alaska, Mr Trump told reporters he wanted a 'rapid' result, and he would not be happy if a ceasefire was not reached on the day.
It was a high bar that he, unsurprisingly, failed to reach.
"We didn't get there," he conceded after the meeting.
"I will say that I believe we had a very productive meeting," Mr Trump said while standing alongside Mr Putin at the brief joint press conference.
"There were many, many points that we agreed on – most of them, I would say.
"A couple of big ones that we haven't quite got there, but we've made some headway. So, there's no deal until there's a deal."
He couched the failure in optimism.
"We're going to stop … thousands of people a week from being killed, and President Putin wants to see that as much as I do."
He did not mention the "land swaps" he had previewed before the talks, which sparked fears in Europe of a take-or-leave-it deal for Ukraine to cede territory.
And neither leader offered detailed specifics about what was agreed upon and what was left to discuss.
In an interview following the summit, Mr Trump told Fox News he considered the meeting "a 10" and that he was not willing to reveal the issues he and Mr Putin did not agree on.
In what was perhaps a sign of respect or a negotiated tactic, Mr Putin opened the joint press conference and spoke about the history of Alaska as part of Russia before suggesting there had in fact been an agreement made.
He said Russia was sincerely interested in ending its war in Ukraine, but that "for the Ukrainian settlement to be sustainable and long-term, all the root causes of the crisis must be eliminated".
"All of Russia's legitimate concerns must be taken into account, and a fair balance in the security sphere in Europe and the world as a whole must be restored.
"I agree with President Trump — he spoke about this today — that Ukraine's security must, without a doubt, be ensured. We are ready to work on this. I would like to hope that the understanding we have reached will allow us to get closer to that goal and open the way to peace in Ukraine."
At one moment, Mr Putin referenced "agreements" that had been made.
He spoke in optimistic terms, describing the talks as a "starting point" for both a "solution of the Ukraine issue" and revived business ties between Russia and the US, according to a translation of his remarks.
For Mr Putin, the summit, which was the first between him and a US president since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, was already a big win, regardless of its outcome.
Mr Putin can now portray the meeting as evidence that years of Western attempts to isolate Russia have unravelled and that Moscow is retaking its rightful place at the high table of international diplomacy.
As the press conference concluded, Mr Trump thanked Mr Putin for the meeting and said the two leaders would likely be seeing each other again soon.
Mr Putin took the opportunity to have the last word and switched into English, saying, "Next time, in Moscow."
Mr Trump responded: "Oh, that's an interesting one. I'll get a little heat on that one, but I could see it possibly happening."
That invitation has been extended to Mr Trump before, but of course, in this instance, suggesting a second meeting be held in Moscow is also suggesting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy would again not be at the negotiating table.
In the end, it appears as if only the first phase of the summit took place, and while the Kremlin is of the view that the discussion went well, ultimately, there was no real announcement out of the meeting.
The press conference between Mr Trump and Mr Putin ended without the leaders taking any questions, a rare show of restraint from the US president.
Within an hour of the men walking off stage, they were ascending the stairs to their private planes, taking off, and heading in different directions.
As the summit played out on Friday, local time, Russia's war in Ukraine raged on.
In the days leading up to the meeting in Alaska, Mr Zelenskyy again ruled out ceding Moscow any territory.
There was no immediate reaction from Kyiv to the summit. Ukraine's opposition leader Oleksiy Honcharenko said on the Telegram messaging app, "It seems Putin has bought himself more time. No ceasefire or de-escalation has been agreed upon."
During the press conference, Mr Trump said he would call Mr Zelenskyy and NATO leaders to update them on the Alaska talks.