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Trump says no deal with Putin – for now: ‘We didn’t get there, but…’

August 16, 2025 | | Print Article

Following his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, President Donald Trump spoke of “great progress,” but noted who was “ultimately” responsible for a peace deal.

A show of strength was coupled with hospitality on Friday as the commander-in-chief welcomed his Russian counterpart to Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska, to discuss steps toward peace with Ukraine. During the brief joint news conference after, Trump offered a reminder about the pivotal role that the Eastern European nation has, alongside NATO, as he told the press, “There’s no deal until there’s a deal.”

Such was the president’s message as he addressed his intent to contact members of the alliance as well as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, noting, “It’s ultimately up to them.”

“I’m gonna start making a few phone calls and tell ’em what happened. But we had an extremely productive meeting, and many points were agreed to. And there are just a very few that are left. Some are not that significant. One is probably the most significant, but we have a very good chance of getting there. We didn’t get there, but we have a very good chance of getting there,” continued Trump, who’d lamented the Russian collusion hoax for interfering with relations in the past. “We really made some great progress today. I’ve always had a fantastic relationship with President Putin, with Vladimir.”

For his part, Putin had said amid broader remarks, “Our negotiations have been held in a constructive atmosphere of mutual respect. We had very thorough negotiations that were quite useful.”

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Axios reported that the meeting was initially going to be between the two presidents, with only translators present to ease communication. However, the two-and-a-half-hour summit shifted to a “three on three” arrangement with Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff joining the president as Putin was accompanied by Russian Foreign Secretary Sergey Lavrov and foreign policy adviser Yuri Ushakov.

In closing the peace-seeking summit, Trump addressed the visiting dignitary and stated, “We’ll speak to you very soon and probably see you again very soon. Thank you very much, Vladimir.”

Eliciting a smirk from the president, Putin suggested with a laugh, “Next time in Moscow,” before Trump remarked, “That’s an interesting one. I’ll get a little heat on that one, but I could see it possibly happening.”

Following their meeting and statements that had emphasized the priority in putting a stop to the deaths of “thousands” each week during the conflict, reassuring “The goal is always peace,” the president joined Fox News host Sean Hannity for an interview where he once more reinforced Ukraine’s role in achieving that end.

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“The meeting was a very warm meeting between two very important countries — and it’s very good when they get along. I think we’re pretty close to a deal,” said Trump. “Now look, Ukraine has to agree to it.”

Meanwhile, Zelenskyy released a statement detailing how he’d spoken with the president and European leaders before insisting, “It is important that America’s strength has an impact on the development of the situation,” and explained a meeting with Trump in Washington, D.C. had been scheduled for Monday.

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Kevin Haggerty
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