Donald Trump has said there are “many points” he and Vladimir Putin agreed on after holding critical talks on the war in Ukraine – but no deal has been reached yet.
Following the much-anticipated meeting in Alaska, which lasted more than two-and-a-half hours, the two leaders gave a short media conference giving little detail about what had been discussed, and without taking questions.
Mr Trump described the meeting as “very productive” and said there were “many points that we agreed on… I would say a couple of big ones”.
However, he added: “We haven’t quite got there, we’ve made some headway… There’s no deal until there’s a deal.”
Trump-Putin summit – latest updates
Donald Trump greets Vladimir Putin at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska. Pic: AP/ Julia Demaree Nikhinson
Mr Putin described the negotiations as “thorough and constructive”, and said Russia was “seriously interested in putting an end” to the war in Ukraine. He also warned Europe not to “torpedo nascent progress”.
It was not clear whether the talks produced meaningful steps towards a ceasefire in what has been the deadliest conflict in Europe in 80 years.
The news conference came after a grand arrival earlier in the day at the Elmendorf-Richardson military base in Anchorage, where the US president stepped down from Air Force One and later greeted his Russian counterpart with a handshake and smiles on a red carpet.
It was the kind of reception typically reserved for close US allies, belying the bloodshed and the suffering in the war.
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