The two world leaders ended their historic press conference without taking questions or sharing details on Ukraine's future.
The meeting lasted more than two and a half hours. The leaders met in a three-on-three meeting along with top advisers for a high-stakes summit in Alaska on Friday.
The meeting could determine the trajectory of the war in Ukraine and the fate of European security. 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.
For Putin, a summit with Trump offers a long-sought opportunity to try to negotiate a deal that would cement Russia’s gains, block Kyiv’s bid to join the NATO military alliance and eventually pull Ukraine back into Moscow’s orbit.
Trump sought to manage expectations before the meeting and spoke several times about Friday as a bridge to a possible second meeting.
In brief press conference remarks Trump said there are “just a very few” issues to resolve concerning the war in Ukraine, without providing any sense of what those issues might be.
“Some are not that significant,” Trump said. “One is probably the most significant, but we have a very good chance of getting there. We didn’t get there, but we have a very good chance of getting there.”
The president said he’s “always had a fantastic relationship” with Putin. He referenced the U.S. government investigations into Russia’s support for his 2016 presidential campaign and repeated his claims of the U.S. economy being the “hottest” in the world.
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.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Putin and Trump made “comprehensive statements” after the talks so a decision was made not to take questions from journalists, Russian state news agency RIA Novosti reported.
Putin and Trump made statements after the talks but left the room full of reporters without taking questions.
RIA Novosti quoted Peskov as describing the talks as “very positive” and saying that the summit allows Moscow and Washington to “continue to confidently move together along the path of searching for (Ukraine conflict) resolution options.”
As they wrapped their statements after the summit, Putin said to Trump in English, “Next time in Moscow.”
Trump responded, “I could see it possibly happening.”
Neither leader announced that a second meeting would be held before they left the room.
