Alaska: The much anticipated talks between US president Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, failed to yield the desired result. There was no breakthrough regarding an end to Russia’s war in Ukraine, considered the fiercest in Europe since 1945.
Putin, who broke protocol by speaking first after the meeting, claimed he and Trump had reached an “understanding” on Ukraine, even as he warned Europe not to “torpedo the nascent progress.”
Trump did not sound as optimistic though. “There’s no deal until there’s a deal,” he said.
As far as India is concerned, the US president told Fox News: “Well, they lost an oil client so to speak, which is India, which was doing about 40% of the oil, China as you know is doing a lot…and If I did secondary sanctions, it would be devastating from their standpoint.. If I have to do it, I’ll do it, may be I won’t have to do it.”
The US president also said that he plans to speak with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and European leaders soon.
Putin repeated Moscow’s long-held position that it is “sincerely interested in putting an end” to the war in Ukraine, but for that to happen, “all the root causes of the crisis … must be eliminated.”
He added that he agrees with Trump on ensuring Ukraine’s security and said Moscow was “ready to work on this,” without offering details.
Trump, who repeatedly spoke in recent days about wanting to have a second meeting after the Alaska summit, said he could see the possibility of his next meeting with Putin happening in Moscow.
“Next time in Moscow,” Putin told Trump in English after the US president thanked him and said he would “probably see you again very soon.”
“Oh, that’s an interesting one,” Trump responded. “I’ll get a little heat on that one, but I could see it possibly happening.”
