U.S. President Donald Trump said Ukraine should "make a deal" to end the war with Russia after his summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin ended in Alaska without a ceasefire. The meeting, lasting nearly three hours on Friday, marked the first U.S.-Russia summit since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022.
Trump told Fox News' Sean Hannity that "Russia is a very big power, and they're not. They're great soldiers," while urging Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to agree to terms. "Gotta make a deal," he said. Trump later added: "I think we're pretty close to a deal. Ukraine has to agree to it. Maybe they'll say 'no.'"
The Alaska talks, which Trump described on Truth Social as "very productive," ended without details on a ceasefire. "It was determined by all that the best way to end the horrific war between Russia and Ukraine is to go directly to a Peace Agreement, which would end the war, and not a mere Ceasefire Agreement, which often times do not hold up," Trump wrote.
Putin struck an upbeat tone, calling Trump "dear neighbour" on arrival in Anchorage and saying the talks were "long overdue." At a briefing, he remarked: "I would like to hope that the understanding we have reached will allow us to get closer to that goal and open the way to peace in Ukraine." He warned Kyiv and European capitals not to "attempt to disrupt the emerging progress through provocation or behind-the-scenes intrigue."
Zelenskiy said after speaking with Trump that he supported the idea of a three-way summit. "Ukraine reaffirms its readiness to work with maximum effort to achieve peace," he wrote on X, adding that he would meet Trump in Washington on Monday. The White House confirmed the talks would take place in the Oval Office, where Trump and Vice President JD Vance had sharply criticized Zelenskiy in February.
European leaders expressed skepticism. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said, "In the meantime, until (Putin) stops his barbaric assault, we will keep tightening the screws on his war machine with even more sanctions." Former German ambassador Wolfgang Ischinger posted on X that the summit delivered "no real progress - a clear 1-0 for Putin - no new sanctions. For the Ukrainians: nothing. For Europe: deeply disappointing."
Analysts echoed those concerns. Cold War historian Sergey Radchenko wrote, "Putin is a determined opponent, and, yes, he basically won this round because he got something for nothing." Oleksandr Merezhko, head of Ukraine's foreign affairs committee, charged that by sidelining a ceasefire, "Trump is taking Russian President Vladimir Putin's position."
Despite ongoing airstrikes and heavy fighting - Kyiv reported 139 clashes along the front line over the past day - Trump left the door open to another meeting. "Next time in Moscow," Putin said with a smile, to which Trump replied he "could possibly see it happening."
