 "US President Donald Trump shakes hands with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the tarmac after they arrived at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska, on August 15, 2025.- AFP")
The joint press conference between US President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, ended abruptly, with both sides avoiding questions from the reporters. Another crucial aspect of the joint briefing was the fact that the word ‘ceasefire’ was not mentioned by both leaders, indicating that the Russia-Ukraine war is still not close to an end.
Putin was the first one to take the stage, emphasising that both leaders are in “agreement” in some aspects. Meanwhile, Trump maintained that ’there is no deal, until a deal’ and stated that he will now be speaking to European leaders, Nato allies, especially with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy .
It was unusual for Putin to take the mic first since, usually, when an American president is hosting a foreign counterpart, a joint news conference would begin with remarks from the US leader followed by his guest. However, this time, Putin opened the news conference as Trump looked on.
Putin leaves Alaska talks in high spirits
While speaking to the reporters, Putin noted that the talks between the two leaders were held in a “respectful, constructive and mutually respectful atmosphere". “Our negotiations took place in a respectful, constructive and mutually respectful atmosphere, were very thorough and useful,” he said.
The Russian leader went on to express his gratitude toward Trump. “It is quite logical to meet here, because our countries, although separated by oceans, are close neighbours,” the Russian leader said.
Apart from this, the Russian leader agreed that the security of Ukraine should be ensured. “I agree with (US President Donald) Trump that the security of Ukraine must be secured, and of course, we are ready to work on that,” he said. “I would like to hope that the agreement that we’ve reached together will help us bring closer that goal and will pave the path towards peace in Ukraine,” he added.
However, Putin insisted that the primary causes of the war must be eliminated before the ongoing war comes to an end. “The situation in Ukraine has to do with the fundamental threats to our security,” he said during a press conference today in Anchorage, Alaska.
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More Shorts“To consider all legitimate concerns of Russia and to reinstate a just balance of security in Europe and the world as a whole. And I agree with President Trump, as he has said today, that naturally, the security of Ukraine should be ensured as well,” he continued.
“Naturally, we are prepared to work on that. I would like to hope that the agreement that we’ve reached together will help us bring us closer to that goal and will pave the path towards peace in Ukraine,” he added.
Meanwhile, Putin’s message to Ukraine and European leaders was simply not to interfere. “We expect that Kyiv and European capitals will constructively perceive all this and will not create any obstacles, will not make attempts to disrupt the emerging progress through provocations and behind-the-scenes intrigues,” he said.
Can’t say the same for Trump
Following Putin’s address to the press, Trump took the stage and maintained that both leaders “made some headway” and “great progress” in their bilateral meeting. However, he noted that there is a “no deal, until there’s a deal.”
“I will call up NATO in a little while. I will call up the various people that I think are appropriate. And I’ll, of course, call up President [Volodymyr] Zelensky and tell him about today’s meeting. It’s ultimately up to them,” Trump said.
“We had an extremely productive meeting, and many points were agreed to,” but Trump said, “We didn’t get there, but we have a very good chance of getting there.” Trump insisted that he always had a “fantastic relationship with President (Vladimir) Putin” but that it was impeded by investigations during his first term into Moscow’s interference in the 2016 US election.
“We had many, many tough meetings, good meetings,” Trump said during a joint presser. “We were interfered with by the Russia, Russia, Russia hoax. I’ve made it a little bit tougher to deal with, but he understood it,” he added.
The news conference of the two leaders ended with the Russian president floating a different location for his next meeting with President Donald Trump: Moscow. Putin switched to English to suggest that the next summit should take place in the Russian capital, Moscow.
The American president acknowledged that agreeing to that proposal would be highly controversial, but he didn’t completely shut the door to it. “That’s an interesting one, I’ll get a little heat on that one,” Trump said. “But I could see it possibly happening.”