President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke briefly to reporters following their summit on Friday at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska.
Trump previously arrived in Alaska around 2:20 p.m. Eastern time, and Putin‘s plane touched down around 2:55 p.m. The meeting between the two leaders lasted around three hours.
Trump is aiming to get a peace deal in the Russia-Ukraine war, but he tempered expectations ahead of the summit. However, he said in a press gaggle on Air Force One that he believes at least “something” will come of the meeting.
“Look, he’s a smart guy,” Trump said. “Been doing it for a long time, but so have I. I’ve been doing it for a long time, and here we are: We’re president. We get along. There’s a good respect level on both sides, and I think, you know, something’s going to come of it.”
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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he is “counting on America” to end the yearslong war in his country.
“It is time to end the war, and the necessary steps must be taken by Russia,” he said. “We are counting on America. We are ready, as always, to work as productively as possible.”
Trump is hoping to broker a meeting between Zelensky and Putin after his summit with Putin in Alaska.
Putin said Thursday that the Trump administration “is making quite an energetic and sincere effort, in my opinion, to stop hostilities, to stop the crisis and to reach an agreement that is of interest to all those involved in this conflict,” during a meeting of top Russian officials.
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Trump’s meeting with Putin is the first in-person talk between a U.S. president and the Russian leader since the Biden administration in 2021, a year before the Ukraine war began, which has led the United States and Europe to isolate themselves from Russia with sanctions.
It is unknown if the peace talks will be successful or if the end of the Ukraine war is in sight. Both countries took military actions against each other within the past week, including large drone strikes.
