Russian President Vladimir Putin ended his joint press conference with US President Donald Trump on Friday with a pointed suggestion: “Next time in Moscow.”
The unexpected invitation came moments after the pair wrapped up their statements following a nearly three-hour summit in Alaska. Trump, who has been openly talking in recent days about wanting a follow-up meeting, didn’t dismiss the idea.
“I could see it possibly happening,” Trump said, calling the offer “interesting” and “a possibility” though he admitted it could stir controversy. “I could get a little heat on that one,” he added with a smile.
However, neither leader confirmed plans for a second summit before leaving the room without taking questions from reporters. The Alaska talks, which both leaders described as productive, ended without a deal to end the war in Ukraine, but both hinted at further discussions.
Trump said “some great progress” was made during high-stakes talks with Putin over the war in Ukraine, but neither leader revealed concrete steps toward ending the conflict. Speaking after their nearly three-hour summit in Alaska, Trump told reporters that “many points were agreed to,” with only a “very few” outstanding. He said he would soon speak with European leaders and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, calling their input “ultimately” decisive for any resolution.
Putin said the two leaders had reached an “understanding” on Ukraine but offered no details about what that meant for the war’s trajectory. He described the meeting as constructive and warned that Europe and Ukraine must not “sabotage” the talks.
According to the State Department, the last US president to visit Russia was Barack Obama, who travelled to St. Petersburg in 2013 for the G-20 summit.
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