Trump, Putin and no deal for Ukraine: The view from our correspondents
All eyes were on Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin as they met for the first time in more than six years, the Russian president visiting the US for high-stakes talks anticipated beforehand to potentially shape the war in Ukraine.
The two leaders greeted each other with a handshake after stepping off their planes at the Elmendorf-Richardson military base in Anchorage, Alaska – and a smiling Trump even applauded Putin as he approached him on a red carpet that had been laid out.
Trump-Putin summit – latest updates
Pic: Reuters
Following the talks, both leaders described the summit as productive but said no deal had been reached – and the word ceasefire was not mentioned by either.
They did not take questions from reporters – leaving perhaps even more than before the talks started.
Here is the view from our correspondents on what the summit means for Ukraine, Putin and Trump.
‘The first question: what’s the most significant stumbling block?’
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The brief news conference wrapped up without the leaders taking questions.
Had they mentioned a ceasefire today, it would have changed the nature of the discussion, says US correspondent James Matthews. We appear to be well short of that, I think.
Putin’s statement about the fundamental causes – to make this settlement lasting and long term, we need to eliminate the primary cause to consider all legitimate concerns of Russia. That’s been Russia’s starting point and it’s been the sticking point throughout this whole process.
For Putin to stand on that stage alongside Trump and have the confidence to articulate that tells me that that resonates with Trump, and Putin is welded to that as an ongoing position – a position which is unacceptable to Ukraine.
In terms of Trump, he was talking up the meeting, called it very productive. We haven’t quite got there, he said. There’s no deal until there’s a deal.
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Pic: Reuters
He spoke about how he was going to call NATO, Zelenskyy, and it was an extremely productive meeting, he said – accentuating the positive, but in there was the negative. He said there are many points that we agree to, but many points yet to be agreed – some not significant, one most significant.
Of course, the first question would have been, had they taken questions, well what’s the most significant stumbling block? And what are you going to do about it? Are you with him on that? And if you’re not, what are the consequences
So frankly, if both those men, both big beasts in this conflict, the two individuals most influential, if they are both welded to Russia’s headline ask, what Russia has wanted all along throughout this, then I have to say there will be pessimism around the prospect of taking this any further.
I’m not quite sure what the reaction is that Trump expects in Ukraine and in European capitals, but it might be a very difficult phone call. Elsewhere in that discussion or these two separate statements, we got a sense, I thought, of Putin the player, how he has succeeded in reeling in Donald Trump and engaging with him as an old friend – that’s how it very much appeared, the old friend that he’s invited back to Moscow.
‘A dictator riding alongside the most powerful man in the world’
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks with Russian President Vladimir Putin, as they meet to negotiate for an end to the war in Ukraine, at Joi
Donald Trump landed at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson with the aspiration of departing a few hours later hailed as a peacemaker and a deal broker, says US correspondent Martha Kelner.
Instead he goes back to Washington having let an international pariah back in from the cold and seemingly received precious little in return.
If Putin pitched up on the tarmac of many of the world’s airports, he could, in theory, be immediately handcuffed. This, after all, is a man wanted by the International Criminal Court for alleged war crimes, including for the alleged abduction of Ukrainian children.
Instead, the red carpet was, quite literally, rolled out for him in Anchorage. A flypast was arranged, featuring F-35 fighter jets, the very planes that are regularly scrambled to intercept Russian aircraft operating off the coast of Alaska. Various military members lined up to salute him.
Then came the most surprising moment of all. Alongside Trump, Putin climbed in the Beast, the US president’s heavily armoured limousine. A dictator, who invaded a sovereign nation three-and-a-half years ago and has been in isolation ever since, riding alongside the most powerful man in the world on a US military base.
No wonder he was grinning in the back seat.
‘Putin spoke as if he was the host’
Pic: Reuters
“It was one of the most unusual press conferences, that I’ve attended,” says Moscow correspondent Ivor Bennett, who travelled with the Russian delegation to Alaska. “And that says something because I’ve been to all of Vladimir Putin’s recent ones. And those are very unusual.
“First and foremost, they said they agreed on many points, but we don’t know what those are. We were told it would be a joint press conference, but it wasn’t. There were no questions. That must be the first and only time that Donald Trump has not taken any questions from the press. And that’s probably because Vladimir Putin made that a condition – he often does at press conferences.
“Donald Trump has said first he has to take what has been agreed to the Ukrainians, to NATO, to get sign off. But I thought what was really interesting was the fact that Vladimir Putin was the first person to speak at the press conference. It was as if he was the host rather than Donald Trump.
“And he said that he welcomed Donald Trump like a neighbour again, kind of cementing this idea that he was the one in charge here, he was the one calling the shots. And even though the banner behind him, the slogan, said ‘Pursuing Peace’, it felt like he was pursuing something else here. He was pursuing better bilateral relations with the United States, because that’s the first thing he talked about.
“He talked up the common shared history between these two countries. He talked about the need to repair bilateral relations because they’ve plunged to their lowest point since the Cold War. And there was lots of flattery for Donald Trump’s efforts to find peace.
“But we still don’t know what has been agreed here. Putin said the root causes of the conflict still need to be resolved. That suggests that all of Russia’s red lines still remain, that it doesn’t want NATO to expand any further east. It wants Ukraine to agree to permanent neutrality, wants limits on its armed forces. It basically sees Ukraine as a buffer state in between Russia and NATO. And that term ‘root cause’ suggests all of those demands still stand.
“So it doesn’t look like Vladimir Putin has made any concessions, despite Donald Trump claiming that many points have been agreed upon over there.”
‘Red carpet treatment sticks in the craw for Ukrainians’
US soldiers cleaning the red carpet. Pic: AP
Our international affairs editor Dominic Waghorn, in Kyiv, gauged the Ukrainian reaction to Putin’s arrival – and says people are furious at the red carpet welcome extended by the Trump team.
Images of US soldiers on their knees, unfurling the red carpet at the steps of the Russian leader’s plane, have been going viral, he reports.
Social media has been lit up with fury, anger, and disgust, he says. There are different ways of welcoming a world leader to this type of event, and Trump has gone all out to give a huge welcome to Putin, which is sticking in the craw of Ukrainians.
Donald Trump has said that his 28-point peace plan for Ukraine is “by far” not the “final offer”, ahead of crisis talks in Geneva.
Meeting on the sidelines of a G20 summit in South Africa, European and other Western leaders scrambled to respond to the US president’s demand for Ukraine to accept the plan drawn up by the Trump administration and the Kremlin.
In a joint statement on Saturday, they said the plan announced on Friday could serve as a basis for talks to end Russia’s war in Ukraine but required “additional work”.
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How Ukraine peace plan came about
Follow the latest on the Ukraine peace plan
As a result, a meeting has been hastily convened in Geneva, Switzerland, on Sunday, where national security advisers from the E3 – France, Britain and Germany – will meet EU, US and Ukrainian officials for further discussions.
Ahead of the talks, Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a video address to his nation that Ukrainian representatives at the talks “know how to protect Ukrainian national interests and exactly what is needed to prevent Russia from carrying out” another invasion.
“Real peace is always based on security and justice,” the Ukrainian leader added.
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PM: ‘More to do’ on US Ukraine peace plan
The 28-point peace plan closely resembles the list of demands repeatedly stated by the Kremlin since it launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine nearly four years ago and if adopted, would see Ukraine cede territory to Russia – and cut the size of its military.
Mr Trump has said he wants a response from Ukraine by Thursday, while suggesting an extension could be possible.
On Saturday, Mr Trump told reporters outside the White House that the plan was not the “final offer” when asked.
He said: “We’d like to get the peace, it should’ve happened a long time ago. The Ukraine war with Russia should’ve never happened. If I was president, it would have never happened. We’re trying to get it ended. One way or another, we have to get it ended.”
His secretary of state Marco Rubio insisted that the peace proposal was authored by the US, despite what a handful of senators have alleged.
“It is based on input from the Russian side. But it is also based on previous and ongoing input from Ukraine,” he said.
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The 28-point peace plan explained
Leaders have sought to balance praise for President Trump’s attempt to end the war with recognition that some terms in his proposal are unpalatable for Kyiv.
“There are many things that cannot simply be an American proposal, which requires broader consultation,” French
President Emmanuel Macron said on the sidelines of the G20, adding that an agreement had to allow for peace for Ukrainians and “security for all Europeans”.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz underlined the importance to Europe of supporting Ukraine.
“If Ukraine loses this war and possibly collapses, it will have an impact on European politics as a whole, on the entire European continent. And that is why we are so committed to this issue,” he said.
“There is currently an opportunity to end this war, but we are still quite a long way from a good outcome for everyone.”
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Keir Starmer calls for growth plan at G20
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer told reporters in Johannesburg: “We are concerned about [caps on military], because it’s fundamental that Ukraine has to be able to defend itself if there’s a ceasefire.”
He said the proposal “requires additional work”, adding: “And that’s why there’s been the agreement that in Geneva tomorrow [Sunday], you’ll have senior US personnel, you’ll have European NSAs [national security advisers], including the UK NSA, and obviously Ukrainians there to work further on the draft.”
Sir Keir also spoke to Mr Trump, relaying discussions held at G20 to the US leader, according to a Downing Street spokesperson, who added that the two leaders would speak again on Sunday.
Meanwhile, Sir Keir, who has defended his decision to fly to the G20 days before a difficult budget, said the role of the G20 is “critical at this moment”.
“The G20 has worked together before to fix fundamental problems in the global economy. We need to find ways to play a constructive role again today in the face of the world challenges,” he said.
“I’d like to see us come together around a five-point plan for growth that leaves no one behind.”
Sir Keir Starmer, Emmanuel Macron and Friedrich Merz at the G20 summit. Pic: PA
The US, however, is boycotting the talks.
The Trump administration made its opposition to South Africa’s G20 agenda clear earlier this year when the country started holding meetings ahead of the summit. South Africa gets to set the agenda as the country holding the rotating G20 presidency.
G20 leaders broke with tradition and adopted a declaration at the start of their summit – despite opposition from the US.
Vincent Magwenya, spokesman for South African president Cyril Ramaphosa, said a leaders’ declaration was adopted unanimously in Johannesburg.
The White House later accused South Africa of refusing to facilitate a smooth transition of the G20 presidency.
Pic: AP
Read more:
Analysis: Europe scrambles at G20 over Ukraine peace plane
G20 lands in South Africa: But who feels forgotten?
The G20 bloc was formed in 1999 as a bridge between rich and poor nations to confront global financial crises.
While it often operates in the shadow of the powerful Group of Seven nations, G20 members represent around 85% of the world’s economy, 75% of international trade and more than half the global population.
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