After negotiations in Anchorage, Alaska, Russian President Vladimir Putin stated at a joint press conference with U.S. President Donald Trump about Russia’s sincere desire to end the conflict, referring to the full-scale war against Ukraine. However, no specific agreements regarding the cessation of hostilities were announced.
This is reported by Kyiv24
Negotiations in a Narrow Format Ended Without Breakthrough
Putin, commenting on the situation, referred to Ukraine as a “brotherly nation, no matter how it sounds in the current realities.” However, he did not provide any details or results of the negotiations regarding the end of the war.
“Until we sign an agreement, there is nothing. I need to talk to (U.S. Secretary of State) Marco (Rubio), (U.S. Special Envoy) Steve (Vitkoff), and some people in the administration,” said Donald Trump, also not providing any details about potential agreements.
Donald Trump noted that he had conversations with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and NATO representatives after his meeting with Putin. The American leader characterized his negotiations with Putin as “extremely productive,” but emphasized that a final decision has not yet been made.
During the discussion, Trump was invited to visit Moscow, to which he responded that it was an “interesting invitation” and did not rule out such a possibility in the future.
Preparation for a Possible Trilateral Meeting
The negotiations between Trump and Putin lasted nearly three hours and concluded around 1:00 AM Kyiv time on August 16. Initially, the meeting was planned to include only translators, but later U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Special Envoy Steve Vitkoff joined Trump, while Putin was accompanied by his assistant Yuri Ushakov and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
Donald Trump had previously emphasized that the main goal of the summit in Alaska was to prepare for a possible second meeting, which would likely involve Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. According to Trump, such a trilateral meeting is more significant than the current negotiations with Putin.
At the same time, Trump assesses the likelihood of failure in negotiations with Putin at 25%.
In response to a question about a possible “territorial exchange” to achieve a peace agreement, Trump stressed that this issue should be decided by Ukraine, and his task is to facilitate the start of the negotiation process, not to negotiate on behalf of Kyiv.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky did not participate in the summit in Alaska. He had previously stated that Ukraine has no intention of “giving its land to anyone,” and the country’s Armed Forces will not leave Donbas voluntarily. Kyiv insists on clear security guarantees in the event of any agreements with Russia.