US President Donald Trump on Friday described his high-stakes talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska as “very productive,” but acknowledged that no formal agreement had been reached, with several key issues still unresolved.
Speaking at a joint press conference following nearly three hours of discussions, Trump said, “We had a very productive meeting, and there were many points we agreed on. A couple of big ones we haven’t quite gotten there, but we made some headway. There’s no deal until there’s a deal.”
Trump noted that he would soon brief NATO allies and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy about the outcome of the meeting. “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 Zelenskyy and tell him about today’s meeting. It’s ultimately up to them,” he added.
Neither leader took questions from reporters after the joint briefing.
Russia’s top economic envoy, Kirill Dmitriev, echoed Trump’s assessment, saying the summit had been “productive” and that Washington had received Moscow “very well.” He stressed the importance of continued dialogue and noted the “significant economic potential of cooperation” between the two countries.
“We will continue building US-Russia relations going forward despite lots of resistance,” Dmitriev said, according to CNN.
