Trump reveals ‘no deal’ with Putin after grinning through Alaska summit and letting Russian leader take the lead

US President Donald Trump revealed that ‘no deal’ was made on Ukraine but beamed at his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin and let him speak first in a historic joint news briefing.

In bleak news for Ukraine, neither leader mentioned the word ‘ceasefire’.

Trump and Putin on Friday said they agreed on several points but did not disclose them, and the two acted almost like old friends in the so-called press conference.

After a closed meeting that lasted about two hours and 45 minutes in Alaska, Putin told reporters that the summit was of a ‘constructive atmosphere, of mutual respect’.

Putin said he agreed that Ukraine’s security should be ensured in a prospective deal.

‘I agree with Trump that the security of Ukraine must be secured, and of course, we are ready to work on that,’ he said.

‘I would like to hope that the agreement that we’ve reached together will help us bring closer that goal and will pave the path towards peace in Ukraine.’

It is rare for a visiting foreign leader to speak in a joint conference before a US president.

US President Donald Trump (right) and Russian President Vladimir Putin (left) held a joint press conference after their summit (Picture: Sky News)

Trump then said no agreement was made at the summit, which took place at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage.

‘We haven’t quite got there, but we’ve got some headway,’ he said.

‘There’s no deal until there’s a deal.’

Trump added that he would call NATO and other key players shortly afterward.

President Donald Trump (right) and Russian President Vladimir Putin (left) arrive for a joint press conference at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska (Picture: AP)

‘And I’ll, of course, call up President Zelensky and tell him about today’s meeting. It’s ultimately up to them,’ he said.

‘We had an extremely productive meeting, and many points were agreed to. We didn’t get there, but we have a very good chance of getting there.’

After Trump’s remarks, Putin invited him to him another meeting, but in Moscow, which appeared to take the US president slightly off guard.

‘That’s an interesting one, I’ll get a little heat on that one,’ Trump replied.

US President Donald Trump (right) and Russian President Vladimir Putin (left) did not take questions from reporters after their joint press conference (Picture: Reuters)

‘But I could see it possibly happening.’

Neither leader made mention of a next meeting involving Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

Both leaders praised each other, with Trump saying he ‘always had a fantastic relationship’ with Putin that was ‘interfered with by the Russia, Russia, Russia hoax’ accusing Moscow of meddling in the 2016 US presidential election.

Putin affirmed the US president’s repeated claim that the Russia-Ukraine war would not have started if Trump had continued to be president.

US President Donald Trump (left) and Russian President Vladimir Putin (right) held a brief joint press conference at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Alaska (Picture: AP)

The Russian president said he tried to convince then-President Joe Biden in 2022 to prevent the situation from getting to a point where ‘serious consequences in the form of military actions could occur’.

‘President Trump and I established a very good, businesslike and trusting contact,’ Putin said.

‘And I have every reason to believe that by moving along this path, we can reach – and the sooner, the better – the end of the conflict in Ukraine.’

Neither leader took questions from reporters, and walked out after their brief statements.

US President Donald Trump listens during a joint press conference with Russian President Vladimir Putin (Picture: Getty Images)

It is unusual for Trump not to answer questions after a formal presser.

Within less than an hour of the joint briefing ending, Putin boarded his plane and turned around and waved and bowed.

Putin’s aircraft was still on the tarmac as Trump boarded Air Force One, which departed for Washington, DC.

Trump did not speak of sanctions against Russia. Leaders in Moscow hailed the meeting, with Parliament member Andrei Gurulyov saying that the Kremlin’s position was ‘unwavering’ and that the meeting ‘is a breakthrough already after what has been happening’.

Reactions from Zelensky and other European leaders are expected to follow.

Earlier, Trump clapped Putin as they met on a red carpet in Alaska to kick off crunch talks about the war in Ukraine.

The American president and Russian leader shook hands and exchanged warm words on the tarmac in Anchorage.

Trump met Putin in the remote US state to discuss bringing an end to the Russia-Ukraine war which has been raging for more than three years.

The pair began face-to face talks after posing in front of photographers and driving in the presidential limo ‘the Beast’ together.

Zelensky once said he wanted to end by 2023, and Trump said he would end the war within ’24 hours’ of being re-elected last year.

But Trump and Putin met for the first time in six years for a three-on-three meeting about Ukraine’s future that left Zelensky off the guest list.

It was a high stakes meeting, with Trump simply writing ‘HIGH STAKES!!!’ on his Truth Social account before taking off for Alaska.

The pair greeted each other warmly on the Elmendorf-Richardson military base (Picture: REUTERS)

The US president beat Putin to the summit, touching down at the Elmendorf-Richardson military base in Alaska on Air Force One at about 10.20am local time, with Putin arriving at about 10.54am.

The duo then stepped out of their jets and exchanged friendly words on the red carpet laid out on the tarmac.

They began their ‘working breakfast’ at around 11.30am local time (8.30pm BST), where their teams sat down in front of photographers.

Reporters yelled, ‘President Putin, will you commit to not killing any more civilians?’ and the Russian leader cupped his hands around his mouth and appeared to answer.

Trump and Putin were initially expected to meet behind closed doors, with interpreters the only other people in the room.

However the one-on-one became a three-on-three, with US secretary of state Marco Rubio and Trump’s top negotiator Steve Witkoff joining on the American side.

Joining Putin was Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Putin’s foreign affairs adviser Yuri Ushakov.

Trump’s stance on the war has swung wildly in recent months. One moment, the president is humiliating Zelensky in the Oval Office. The next, he’s calling out Putin’s ‘bulls**t’ and saying he’s ‘disgusted’ with him.

In comparison, Putin has remained fairly tight-lipped about his goals for the meeting.

‘The current American administration… is making, in my opinion, quite energetic and sincere efforts to stop the hostilities, stop the crisis and reach agreements that are of interest to all parties involved in this conflict,’ he said yesterday.

Zelensky is not best pleased about the ‘bilateral’ meeting excluding him, and has raised concerns that talks ‘will not achieve anything’ without Ukraine having a seat at the table.

‘We understand Russia’s intention to try to deceive America – we will not allow this,’ he said over the weekend.

Elizabeth Baker