US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin walked away from their high-stakes meeting in Alaska on Friday without securing a breakthrough to end the war in Ukraine.
After more than two and a half hours of private talks, the two leaders appeared together on stage, offering only limited details about their discussions. While Putin declared that they had reached an “understanding” on Ukraine, Trump pushed back, making it clear that no agreement had been finalized.
“There’s no deal until there’s a deal,” Trump told reporters, adding that he planned to consult with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and European leaders in the coming days. He emphasized that while progress had been made, the most critical issue remained unresolved.
“We had an extremely productive meeting, and many points were agreed to,” Trump said. “Some are minor, one is very significant, and we have a very good chance of getting there. But we didn’t get there.”
Putin, speaking first, warned Europe not to “torpedo the nascent progress” and suggested that the talks had moved the needle forward, though he, too, stopped short of providing specifics.
The summit, closely watched around the world, ended without the joint press conference many had anticipated. Instead, both leaders made short remarks before leaving without answering questions.
