WITH FIGHTER JETS, a red carpet and a hopeful slogan “Pursuing Peace” plastered on the wall, President Donald Trump welcomed his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin for a summit in Alaska on Friday whose results remained entirely unclear once it abruptly ended.
After meeting for nearly three hours, the two men
emerged to proclaim progress. But they exited their scheduled news conference
without explaining what, exactly, they have achieved.
One thing that was evident: There was no deal made.
And the ceasefire Trump said he wanted in place when the summit ended was far
from becoming a reality as he increasingly put the onus on Ukrainian President
Volodymyr Zelensky to “make a deal.”
“There were many, many points that we agreed on most
of them, I would say,” Trump said at the news conference, speaking after Putin.
“A couple of big ones that we haven’t quite gotten there, but we’ve made some
headway.”
“There’s no deal until there’s a deal,” Trump
pronounced.
He and Putin departed the stage without answering
questions.
It was an inconclusive end to a showy summit that for
all its unknowns did seem to decisively welcome Putin back
into the diplomatic fold.
Still, for all of the pomp and protocol, the
indications of how difficult Trump’s task will be were evident from the moment
the meeting began.
The addition of two aides to Friday’s session
Secretary of State Marco Rubio and US special envoy Steve Witkoff could allow
for greater clarity in the coming days, particularly if Russia offers an
accounting of events that differs from the US perspective.
Still, there was one moment that only Trump and Putin
will be able to recount: their brief ride in the presidential limousine from
the tarmac to the room where the meeting took place. No one else was in the car
with them except Secret Service agents no advisers or even translators.
That leaves the contents of their brief chat known
only to them.