US President Donald Trump rated his summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin on an interview with Fox News on Saturday a “10” out of 10, calling it “a very warm meeting” that showed “very good progress” toward peace in Ukraine.
The two leaders met in Alaska in a bid to advance efforts toward ending the war in Ukraine. Speaking aboard Air Force One ahead of the summit, Trump said his goal was to “save a lot of lives.”
Following the talks, Trump described the discussions as “extremely productive,” while acknowledging that “we’re not there yet” on reaching a final deal.
“There were many, many points that we agreed on… A couple of big ones that we haven’t quite gotten there, but we’ve made some headway. So, there’s no deal until there’s a deal,” Trump said, as reported by Fox News.
Putin echoed this sentiment, saying the meeting took place in a “constructive atmosphere of mutual respect.” Both the leaders have made progress on unspecified issues after holding nearly three-hour talks. However, none of them detailed the specifics.
Standing alongside US President Donald Trump after their first meeting since the latter returned to power, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that he believed the war in Ukraine would never have begun had Trump remained in the White House after the 2020 election.
“Today, when President Trump says that if he was president back [in 2022], there would be no war, and I’m quite sure that it would indeed be. I can confirm that,” Putin said, according to the BBC.
Story continues below this ad
Trump’s advice to Zelenskyy: ‘Make a deal’
Looking ahead, Trump said the next steps involve further discussions with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and other NATO leaders. During the interview he said that he would advise Zelenskyy to “make a deal.”
“They’re fighting a big war machine, and we, I think, are close to a deal, but I don’t like saying it… I always say 50-50 because so many things can happen,” Trump said. “But I think President Putin would like to solve the problem.”
Trump also mentioned being presented with a book containing the names of “thousands of people, prisoners, that will get released” as part of potential agreements.
(With inputs from Fox News, BBC)
