World

Trump and Putin meet on Ukraine

August 16, 2025 3:59 pm

Source: Reuters

Trump and Putin exchanged warm words but left their summit without an agreement to end Moscow’s war against Ukraine and gave no details about what they discussed.

Here are some takeaways from the talks:

BODY LANGUAGE AND PRAISE

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There was no lack of warmth between the two leaders when they met on a red carpet on the tarmac at a U.S. military base in Alaska, greeting each other like old friends.
That warmth seemed to have waned when they appeared before the media hours later, though both men still took pains to praise each other.
But their efforts to project a positive personal relationship belied an underlying truth: friendship aside, they did not announce an agreement to end the war.
DEAL OR NO DEAL

Just ahead of the summit, Trump said his goal was a halt to the fighting between Russia and Ukraine. Hours later, when the leaders emerged from their meeting with advisers, no such deal had materialized.
Trump left Alaska with little to show for his efforts, puncturing a hole in his dealmaker image and depriving him of an accomplishment to tout in his campaign for the Nobel Peace Prize.
DECODING PUTIN, THROWING BIDEN UNDER THE BUS

Putin showed a mastery of saying things Trump likes to hear, even without giving significant ground. He gave credence to Trump’s assertion that if he had been president four years ago, the war in Ukraine would never have started. “I’m quite sure it would indeed be so,” Putin said.
Despite playing into Trump’s theory on the origins of the war, Putin signaled that the Ukraine conflict was a ways away from being solved.
NO QUESTIONS

After making statements to the media, the two men declined to take questions, depriving reporters of a chance to probe for details about their talks.
But Putin got a win with the invitation alone. The Russian president has been ostracized by other world leaders, so his meeting with the most powerful man in the world was a victory for the former KGB spy, and his seeming satisfaction with that showed.

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