Presidents Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin said that they made progress in three hours of talks in Alaska, moving closer to finding an end to the Ukraine War, but did not announce an immediate ceasefire.

 

Speaking at the press conference, Mr Trump called the meeting ‘extremely productive’ and said many points were agreed to. He added that US-Russia didn’t get there, but we have a very good chance of getting there. We had a very good meeting and now it’s really up to President Zelensky to get it done, President Trump said of a peace deal. 

 

At the news conference after their talks concluded, Putin was upbeat. I have every reason to believe that, moving along this path, we can reach the end of the conflict in Ukraine sooner than later, he said. Putin said Russia needs to eliminate the “primary causes” of the conflict and warned that Ukraine and Europe must not sabotage talks. Describing the situation in Ukraine as a fundamental threats to Russian security, the Russian President said it was time to move from confrontation to dialogue, and he called the meeting a long overdue.  He also claimed at one point that the war in Ukraine would not have happened had Trump been President in 2022. Mr Putin also floated a different location for his next meeting with President Donald Trump in Moscow.

 

Meanwhile, British Defence Secretary said that the United Kingdom and its allies are ready to put troops in Ukraine to guarantee its security if there is a ceasefire. Trump also spoke in support of troops to guarantee security but ruled out their going under the NATO banner. Trump said that he would be calling his Western allies and Zelensky to brief them on the summit.