Trump: We held ‘fruitful and constructive’ talks but did not reach an ‘agreement’ on Ukraine

SadaNews - After three hours of talks between U.S. President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, along with the American and Russian delegations, both leaders described the summit as constructive and fruitful, noting that the discussions took place in a positive atmosphere.

The two presidents made prepared statements and left the hall without taking questions from the media, leaving analysts to ponder the implications of their words in search of signs of potential breakthroughs or ongoing obstacles, as neither Trump nor his Russian counterpart provided details of any agreement.

It indeed appeared that the meeting was an exploratory exercise, as described by Caroline Levitt, the White House spokesperson, several days ago.

President Trump stated that he had a constructive summit and a very fruitful meeting with President Vladimir Putin, indicating that they had agreed on many points, but he announced that "no agreement" had been reached regarding a ceasefire or peace agreement in Ukraine, stating that there is no agreement until an agreement is reached.

Although Trump's objective for holding the summit focused on achieving a ceasefire, he clarified that the discussions were good but they did not agree on the fundamental issue, which is reaching an agreement for a ceasefire. He said: "We made significant progress today. My relationship with President Putin and Vladimir has always been great." He also described Russia's interference in the 2016 U.S. elections as a "hoax."

In his remarks alongside Putin, Trump said that the next step is to brief Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and other leaders on the developments. However, it seems that his hope for a quick follow-up summit including Putin and Zelensky did not materialize.

Putin jokingly said in English at the end of the joint meeting, "Next time in Moscow."

The Roots of the Conflict

Putin noted at the beginning of the press conference that the negotiations took place in a spirit of mutual respect and highlighted the neighborhood relationship between the two countries and the significant shared heritage between Russia and the United States in Alaska. He said: "Our negotiations took place in a constructive atmosphere of mutual respect. We conducted comprehensive and very useful negotiations. I would like to thank Trump for his cooperation and friendly tone of conversation."

Putin explained that the central issue at the summit was the situation in Ukraine and thanked Trump for his efforts and his quest to understand the essence of the matter and the history of the conflict. He reinforced the terms for resolving the roots of the conflict by stating, "the situation in Ukraine is linked to fundamental threats to our security, and I have repeatedly stated that we are convinced of the need to make the resolution permanent and long-lasting. We must eradicate all roots and main causes of the conflict, consider all of Russia's real concerns, and restore a fair security balance in Europe. We agree with President Trump on the necessity of ensuring Ukraine's security and are ready to work together. I hope that the agreement we reached will contribute to this goal and pave the way for peace in Ukraine."

The Russian president warned Ukraine and its European supporters against "sabotaging this progress." Putin expressed regret over the deterioration of U.S.-Russian relations in recent years to "the lowest level since the Cold War," and stated that it is time to move from "confrontation to dialogue."

Putin Happy, Trump Gloomy

Body language conveyed what coordinated words and verbal niceties did not. The Russian president appeared happy and praised President Trump multiple times and the American welcome and the neighborhood relationship that binds his country and the United States, while President Trump seemed composed with a stiff facial expression, in contrast to the beginning of the meeting when he showed warmth and cheerfulness.

The summit saw many changes, as the closed meeting between the two presidents and the interpreters was changed to a three-on-three meeting with the presence of Secretary of State Marco Rubio and special envoy Steve Witkoff joining Trump, and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and his foreign policy advisor Yuri Ushakov joining Putin. A broader meeting was initially scheduled for lunch but was canceled.