Russian President Vladimir Putin made a rare public switch to English on Friday to invite U.S. President Donald J. Trump to Moscow for the next round of peace talks, following their high-profile summit in Alaska.
The two leaders met in Anchorage for what Trump described as an “extremely productive” session, though no formal agreement was reached. Both men said progress had been made, with Trump pointing to his “very good chance” of eventually securing a deal, CNN reported.
“We didn’t get there, but we have a very good chance of getting there,” Trump said at a joint press conference. “Today’s agreements will help us restart pragmatic relations.”
The summit closed on a symbolic note when Putin, speaking in English, told Trump: “Next time in Moscow.”
“That’s an interesting one,” Trump replied with a smile. “I’ll get a little heat for that one. But I can see it possibly happening.”
Putin praised the discussions as “constructive” and thanked Trump for what he called a “friendly” and “results-oriented” approach. He suggested the talks could “start us on the path towards a resolution in Ukraine” and repeated his claim that there would have been no war if Trump had been president when the conflict began.
Neither leader provided details of any breakthrough, and they did not take questions from the press before departing.
The talks drew swift reaction in Europe.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, widely seen as Putin’s closest ally in the European Union but who is also close with Trump, declared that the world “is a safer place today” because of the Alaska summit.
“For years, we have watched the two largest nuclear powers calculate the framework of their cooperation and send messages to each other. It’s over with now,” Orban wrote on Facebook Saturday. “The world is a safer place today than it was yesterday.”
The summit was followed by a transatlantic conference call that included Trump, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, and several European leaders.
According to the French government, the exchange lasted over an hour and included French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Finnish President
Alexander Stubb, and Polish President Karol Nawrocki. NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen also joined.
The call was described as an opportunity to coordinate positions after Trump’s meeting with Putin and to discuss possible next steps in peace negotiations.
In his first public comments since the Alaska summit, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky endorsed Trump’s proposal for a trilateral meeting between the United States, Russia, and Ukraine.
“Ukraine emphasizes that key issues can be discussed at the level of leaders, and a trilateral format is suitable for this,” Zelensky said. “It is important that Europeans are involved at every stage to ensure reliable security guarantees together with America.”
Zelensky said he spoke privately with Trump for about an hour after the Alaska summit, followed by the larger call with European leaders. He added that Trump shared the “main points” of his discussion with Putin and signaled a positive role for the United States in providing Ukraine with security guarantees.
“Ukraine reaffirms its readiness to work with maximum effort to achieve peace,” Zelensky said. “It is important that America’s strength has an impact on the development of the situation.”
Zelensky announced he will travel to Washington, D.C., on Monday for a meeting with Trump to discuss “all of the details regarding ending the killing and the war.”
“I am grateful for the invitation,” Zelensky said, adding that he viewed the discussions as a critical moment for moving toward peace.
The Anchorage summit marked the latest attempt at rekindling direct U.S.-Russia negotiations, now reinforced by European involvement and an upcoming Washington meeting with Zelensky.
