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”.
Trump-Putin summit – latest updates
There are a few left, he added. “Some are not that significant. One is probably the most significant, but we have a very good chance of getting there…
“We haven’t quite got there, we’ve made some headway. There’s no deal until there’s a deal.”
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”.
After much build-up to the summit, it was ultimately not clear whether the talks produced meaningful steps towards a ceasefire in what has been the deadliest conflict in Europe in 80 years.
Mr Trump said he intended to speak with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and other European leaders to brief them on the discussions.
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.
Mr Putin even travelled alongside Mr Trump in the presidential limousine, nicknamed “The Beast”.
It was the kind of reception typically reserved for close US allies, belying the bloodshed and the suffering in the war.
Before the talks, the two presidents ignored frantically-shouted questions from journalists – and Mr Putin appeared to frown when asked by one reporter if he would stop “killing civilians” in Ukraine, putting his hand to his ear as though to indicate he could not hear.
Our US correspondent Martha Kelner, on the ground in Alaska, said he was shouting “let’s go” – apparently in reference to getting the reporters out of the room.
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