Trump had said before the summit that he’d know in the first two minutes whether he and Putin could reach a deal to end the Russia-Ukraine war.
In his first interview following Friday’s meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, President Donald Trump refused to reveal the “one big issue” that he and Putin disagreed on.
Trump’s meeting with Putin in Alaska ended without the two world leaders reaching an agreement to end the ongoing war in Ukraine. Speaking to the media following the meeting, Trump said that he and Putin had an “understanding” and that they agreed on many points but disagreed on many, including what he said was a major point.
Trump said “some great progress” was made in his bilateral meeting with the Russian president, saying “many points were agreed to,” with just a “very few” remaining.
Immediately following the meeting, Trump sat down with Fox News’ Sean Hannity and dodged questions about what he and Putin did not agree on.
“You said there was one big issue you and Putin don’t agree on. Are you prepared to go public with that?” Hannity asked Trump.
“No, I’d rather not. I guess somebody is gonna go public with it, they’ll figure it out,” Trump responded.
Trump had said before the summit that he’d know in the first two minutes whether he and Putin could reach a deal to end the Russia-Ukraine war.
However, during the post-summit interview with Hannity, Trump didn’t give a direct answer when asked about the opening minutes of the meeting.
Instead, Trump stressed that he’s always had a “great relationship” with Putin and said they would have done things together if not for the U.S. investigation into Russian interference in Trump’s election in 2016.
Trump also mentioned several times during the interview the ways Putin complimented him.
Trump said Putin described the U.S. as “hot as a pistol.” The U.S. president also said it pleased him to hear Putin say as Trump himself often does that the Russia-Ukraine war would not have begun had the Republican, and not Democrat Joe Biden, been president.
Overall, Trump gave the summit, of which no precise details have been released, “a 10.”
He also seemed to assign the responsibility of achieving a ceasefire agreement to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who was not invited to the Alaskan summit on Friday.
“Now it’s really up to President Zelensky to get it done,” Trump told Hannity.
Trump said he expects a meeting to take place between Putin and Zelensky and that he will perhaps join them.
He declined to discuss what he and Putin had agreed to and what remained outstanding, repeating that “it’s not a done deal at all.”
Putin has previously said he’s not against meeting Zelensky but that “certain conditions” must first be met. The Kremlin has said the two should only meet when there’s a peace agreement on the table ready to be signed.
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