 "US President Donald Trump (left) and Russia's President Vladimir Putin shake hands before attending a joint press conference after a meeting at the Presidential Palace in Helsinki, on July 16, 2018. (Photo: Yuri Kadobnov/AFP)")
Russian President Vladimir Putin said he and US President Donald Trump had reached an “understanding” on Ukraine, cautioning European nations not to undermine the progress and warning them not to “torpedo” it.
Trump, speaking shortly after, said he had not yet spoken with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky but planned to do so soon, along with European leaders.
Putin noted that the agreements reached during the talks could serve as a starting point for resolving the Ukraine conflict and rebuilding Russia-US ties. “I expect today’s agreements will become a reference point, not only for addressing the Ukrainian issue, but also for restarting business-like, pragmatic relations between Russia and the United States,” he said.
Trump described the meeting as “extremely productive” but stressed that no final deal had been reached to end the war. “There’s no deal until there’s a deal,” he told reporters at the Anchorage press conference alongside Putin.