Trump, Putin talks end without deal on Ukraine

KABUL (Pajhwok): A closely watched summit between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday ended without any breakthrough on halting Moscow’s war in Ukraine, though both leaders insisted their talks had been constructive.

Speaking briefly to the media after nearly three hours of discussions in Alaska, the two presidents said progress had been made on unspecified matters but offered no details and declined to take questions, Reuters reported.

“We’ve made some headway,” Trump said, standing before a backdrop reading Pursuing Peace. “There’s no deal until there’s a deal.”

Later in an interview with Fox News’ Sean Hannity, Trump announced he would temporarily shelve plans to impose tariffs on China over its purchases of Russian oil, citing what he described as progress with Putin.

However, he confirmed a new 25 per cent tariff on US imports from India, another major buyer of Russian crude.

“Because of what happened today, I think I don’t have to think about that now,” Trump said of the Chinese tariffs. “I may have to think about it in two weeks or three weeks, but we don’t have to think about that right now.”

Although he has threatened sanctions on Moscow, Trump has yet to enforce them—even after Putin ignored a Trump-imposed ceasefire deadline earlier this month.

Trump also hinted at a possible meeting involving Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, which he might personally attend.

He gave no details about who was arranging the talks or when they might occur. Putin, for his part, made no reference to such a meeting.

Addressing reporters separately, the Russian leader said he expected Ukraine and its European allies to respond to the US-Russia talks “constructively” rather than attempt to “disrupt the emerging progress.”

He reiterated Moscow’s long-standing demand that what it calls the “root causes” of the conflict be addressed before lasting peace can be achieved—signalling continued resistance to an immediate ceasefire.

Kyiv has yet to respond to the summit, the first face-to-face encounter between Putin and a US president since the war began.

When asked by Hannity what advice he would give Zelenskiy, Trump replied: “Gotta make a deal. Look, Russia is a very big power, and they’re not.”

Analysts estimate the war has killed or injured well over a million people on both sides, including thousands of Ukrainian civilians. Zelenskiy has ruled out ceding any territory to Moscow and continues to push for a security guarantee backed by Washington. Trump said he would brief Zelenskiy and NATO leaders on the Alaska talks.

Also present at the meeting were US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Trump’s special envoy to Russia Steve Witkoff, Russian foreign policy adviser Yury Ushakov and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.

sa