The meeting between Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump on the war in Ukraine ended on Friday night with the Russian President boarding his plane back to Russia, and his US vis-a-vis embarking on Air Force One a short time later.
Trump had hoped their encounter at the Elmendorf-Richardson Military Base in Anchorage, Alaska's largest city, would be result in a ceasefire, but he did not achieve this. "There's no deal until there's a deal," he said.
Trump welcomed his Russian counterpart on a red carpet at around 10.30 a.m. local time (8.30 p.m. Belgian time) on Friday.
Initially, a one-on-one meeting was planned, but it turned into a three-on-three encounter. Trump was flanked by Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, while Putin was accompanied by Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Foreign Policy Adviser Yuri Ushakov. Two interpreters were also present.
This was to be followed by a working lunch with a larger delegation. However, it did not come to that. After the meeting, which, according to the Russian state news agency TASS lasted two hours and fifty minutes, the presidents issued a joint statement.
They emphasised that the talks had been constructive and productive, but what exactly was discussed or achieved remained shrouded in mystery. Putin did say that Russia wants an end to what he calls the conflict in Ukraine, but that the roots of that conflict must first be eradicated.
According to Putin the two leaders came to "agreements" during the talks. Trump, on the other hand, noted that there were “many points that we agreed on” but there were still “a couple of big ones that we haven't quite gotten there.”
He also said he would call NATO leaders and Ukrainian President Volodimir Zelenskyy.
The US President came away from the talks with at least one of his desires unfulfilled: on his way to Alaska, he had said that he would not be "happy" if Putin did not agree to a ceasefire in Ukraine on Friday.
Trump can assume that he will see his Russian counterpart again soon. "Next time in Moscow?" Putin asked in English. "I can see that happening," Trump replied.
And then the press conference was over.
The 200 or so journalists present were not given a chance to ask questions. Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov also did not answer any .
At around 4.00 p.m. local time (2.00 a.m. Belgian time), President Putin boarded his plane, and a little later, the armoured presidential limousine known as 'The Beast' delivered President Trump to Air Force One.
