KEY POINTS
- Trump says he will now target a full peace agreement after failing to secure a ceasefire in talks with Putin.
- Alaska meeting ended without breakthrough but was called “productive” by both leaders.
- Trump plans to meet Zelensky in Washington on Monday.
- European leaders back the trilateral summit and vow to tighten sanctions on Russia.
- Putin warns Ukraine and Europe not to obstruct progress, hinting at future talks “in Moscow”.
WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump said on Saturday he would now target a full peace agreement to end the Ukraine war, after failing to secure a ceasefire during high-stakes talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin at an air base in Alaska on Friday.
The three-hour meeting produced no breakthrough, but Trump and European leaders voiced support for a new summit that includes Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Zelensky said he will now go to Washington on Monday, while European leaders said they were ready to intensify sanctions against Russia after Trump briefed them on the summit and they held their own protracted talks.
Trump remained upbeat about meeting Putin in a post on his Truth Social platform.
“A great and very successful day in Alaska!,” he proclaimed, adding that European leaders backed his plan for a three-way meeting with Putin and Zelensky.
“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,” he added, confirming his meeting with Zelensky on Monday.
“If all works out, we will then schedule a meeting with President Putin. Potentially, millions of people’s lives will be saved.”
Trump briefs European leaders
After the summit, Trump spoke first with Zelensky, the White House said. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, and European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen later joined the call, officials said.
The European leaders, who had been wary of being left out of the Alaska meeting, held their own talks on Saturday and said they supported the proposed three-way summit.
“We are also ready to work with President Trump and President Zelensky towards a trilateral summit with European support,” they said in a joint statement that added that pressure must be maintained on Russia.
“As long as the killing in Ukraine continues, we stand ready to uphold the pressure on Russia. We will continue to strengthen sanctions and wider economic measures to put pressure on Russia’s war economy until there is a just and lasting peace,” they said.
Russia could not have a “veto” on Ukraine joining the European Union or NATO, they added.
Zelensky said Trump had laid out the “main points” of the summit and that he would go to the White House on Monday “to discuss all of the details regarding ending the killing and the war”.
Trump and Putin emerged from their talks at a Cold War era air base to offer warm words at a press briefing but took no questions from reporters.
“We’re not there yet, but we’ve made progress. There’s no deal until there’s a deal,” Trump said.
He called the meeting “extremely productive” with “many points” agreed, but did not offer specifics.
“There are just a very few that are left, some are not that significant, one is probably the most significant,” Trump said without elaborating.
‘Next time in Moscow’
Putin also spoke in general terms of cooperation at the joint press appearance that lasted just 12 minutes.
“We hope that the understanding we have reached will… pave the way for peace in Ukraine,” Putin said.
As Trump mused about a second meeting, Putin smiled and said in English: “Next time in Moscow”.
Before the summit, Trump had warned of “severe consequences” if Russia did not accept a ceasefire.
But when asked about those consequences during a Fox News interview after the talks, Trump said that “because of what happened today, I think I don’t have to think about that now”.
Putin warns Western allies
Trump, whose tone with Zelensky has changed since he berated the Ukrainian president at the White House in February, told Fox that “Now it’s really up to President Zelensky to get it done”.
Trump could not get the Russian agreement to get Zelensky into Friday’s talks. But Zelensky, who has rejected suggestions that Ukraine give up territory, said Saturday that he supported the American efforts.
“It is important that America’s strength has an impact on the development of the situation,” he said.
Putin warned Ukraine and European countries to “not create any obstacles” and not “make attempts to disrupt this emerging progress through provocation or behind-the-scenes intrigues”.
