LILLEY: Trump and Putin come close, but don't strike a deal

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Donald Trump stood on the red carpet in Anchorage after leaving Air Force One on Friday and clapped as Vladimir Putin walked towards him.

The two leaders then stood for a photo-op on a stage that said ‘Alaska 2025’ as F-22 fighter jets and a B-2 stealth bomber flew over them in a show of American strength. 

From there, Putin and Trump got into The Beast, the presidential limousine, to head to their meeting. 

It may have been the only time that the two leaders had alone together. It was supposed to be a one-on-one meeting and gradually turned into a standard summit overtaken with staff and cabinet members. 

Trump’s warm greeting for the Russian leader was a public display ahead of tough talks. He was expected to outline Putin’s options to him in the meeting, explain that he can end the war against Ukraine and reap economic benefits or continue fighting and face consequences. 

As they emerged after roughly three hours of discussions, Trump gestured to Putin to speak first. The fact that they spoke at all was a sign that some progress was made. The fact that there were no questions taken by either leader was a sign that they did not arrive at an agreement. 

“The situation in Ukraine has to do with fundamental threats to our security,” Putin said, making excuses for his decision to invade in 2022. 

For years, Putin has tried to claim that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine was due to NATO’s expansion. But the reality is that NATO’s expansion has been driven by Russian aggression as countries such as Sweden and Finland applied for membership. 

Putin tried during his remarks to play up ties between the United States and Russia, including their ties via Alaska and co-operation during the Second World War. Still, it was clear that while some progress was made, no deal was made. 

“There’s no deal until there’s a deal,” Trump said following Putin’s remarks. 

Trump said that he would be calling NATO leaders shortly after the meeting. Putin asked that European leaders not try to stop the progress that he and Trump were making. Neither leader, though, was willing to share what progress had been made in the meeting. 

“I’ll of course, call up (Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy) and tell them about today’s meeting,” Trump said. 

“We had an extremely productive meeting, and many points were agreed to,” Trump said. “There are just a very few that are left, some are not that significant, one is probably the most significant, but we have a very good chance of getting there.” 

Prior to the meeting, Trump had spoken of land swaps in any negotiated settlement. That was something Zelenskyy had opposed.  

“Ukrainians will not give their land to the occupier,” Zelenskyy said last week. 

He may not be able to keep up that tough talk, however, if a real deal for peace is on the table. The most recent Gallup Poll in Ukraine shows that the majority of Ukrainians want a negotiated resolution to this war.  

Three years ago, 73% of Ukrainians said that their country “should continue fighting until it wins the war.” Now that number sits at 24% while those saying that “Ukraine should seek to negotiate an ending to the war as soon as possible” has risen from 22% at the start of the war to 69% now. 

The population of Ukraine, and likely the population of Russia, is war-weary and ready for this to end. 

“We didn’t get there, but we have a very good chance of getting there,” Trump said of the meeting. 

“Next time in Moscow,” Putin said to Trump as they wrapped up their statements to the media. 

Trump acknowledged that meeting in Moscow may come with some heat and some problems, but didn’t say no. 

The two leaders, who clearly still have issues between them, shook hands and walked off the stage before boarding their respective planes to head home.

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