Putin: Alaska Talks With Trump ‘Frank,’ Move Closer to Key Decisions

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday described his meeting with former US President Donald Trump as “timely” and “very useful,” saying the two discussed ending the Ukraine war “on a fair basis.”

Speaking in Moscow a day after the Alaska summit — his first visit to US soil in a decade — Putin told senior Kremlin officials: “We have not had direct negotiations of this kind at this level for a long time. The conversation was very frank, substantive, and, in my opinion, brings us closer to the necessary decisions.”

Trump and Putin met for over three hours at an air base in Alaska on Friday. The Russian leader had not been allowed on Western soil since ordering the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Both leaders praised the talks but avoided press questions. Trump called the meeting “extremely productive,” saying many points had been agreed though “one very significant” issue remains unresolved. Putin, meanwhile, echoed Trump’s view that the Ukraine war would not have begun had Trump been in office instead of Joe Biden.