By MICHAEL WARREN, CURTIS YEE and NELL CLARK, ALASKA, (AP):- U.S. President Donald Trump said “some great progress” was made during high-stakes talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the war in Ukraine, but neither leader offered specific details on the trajectory of the war.
Trump said “many points were agreed to,” with just a “very few” remaining, and told reporters he will speak with European leaders and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy soon. Putin said the two leaders had reached an “understanding,” but neither offered further details on Ukraine’s future.
Trump’s allies have cast the U.S. president as a heavyweight negotiator who can find a way to bring the slaughter to a close. Trump has threatened “very severe consequences” if Putin does not agree to stop the war after the summit.
Putin thanks Trump for ‘friendly’ tone of talks, urges Russia and US to ‘turn the page’
Putin thanked Trump for the “friendly” tone of the conversation they had on Friday and said Russia and the United States should “turn the page and go back to cooperation.”
He praised Trump as someone who “has a clear idea of what he wants to achieve and sincerely cares about the prosperity of his country, and at the same time shows understanding that Russia’s has its own national interests.”
“I expect that today’s agreements will become a reference point not only for solving the Ukrainian problem, but will also mark the beginning of the restoration of businesslike, pragmatic relations between Russia and the U.S.,” Putin said.
Trump says he will fill Zelenskyy in on Putin meeting
The U.S. president also said he would call European and NATO leaders to give them updates from his meeting with Putin.
Trump said “some great progress” was made in his bilateral meeting with the Russian president, saying “many points were agreed to,” with just a “very few” remaining.
Zelenskyy was not invited to the Alaska summit.
