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The Trump-Putin meeting aimed to discuss ending Russia’s ongoing war against Ukraine, which began in February 2022. However, the White House stated that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was not invited to this summit. Despite Putin’s claims of wanting a peace deal with Ukraine, his army continued attacking Ukrainian forces even as he prepared for the meeting.
The positions of Russia and Ukraine remain far apart on terms for peace. Zelensky refuses to agree to a ceasefire without security guarantees for Ukraine, while Putin demands that Ukraine be excluded from NATO and cedes four territories it claims were annexed by Russia.
Ukrainian official Oleksandr Merezhko told The New York Times that the summit did not result in a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine. He stated that Putin used Trump to demonstrate that he is not isolated. According to Merezhko, Putin repeated his talking points during joint remarks with Trump after the summit.
Trump praised Putin after their meeting, saying they had made “great progress” but had not yet reached an agreement on a ceasefire in Russia’s war against Ukraine. He added, “There’s no deal until there’s a deal.”
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Zelensky was skeptical about the U.S.-Russia talks, believing that Putin would benefit significantly from meeting with Trump, as it would end his diplomatic and economic isolation.
In response to Zelensky’s concerns, Putin claimed that if Trump had been president when Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, there would have been no war. He also suggested that Trump understands Russia has its own interests and advised Ukraine not to interfere with the process.
A follow-up meeting involving Trump, Putin, and Zelensky is possible but not yet scheduled.
