Trump's week in review: DC takeover to reduce crime, 'Pursuing Peace' summit with Putin
1. Trump meeting with Putin
On Friday, Trump met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Anchorage, Alaska, seeking to negotiate an end to the Russia-Ukraine conflict that has gone on for nearly three-and-a-half years. As he spoke to reporters on Air Force One ahead of the meeting Friday, the president said he wanted “to see a ceasefire rapidly,” stressing, “I don’t know if it’s going to be today, but I’m not going to be happy if it’s not today.”
At a joint press conference with Putin following their meeting, Trump described it as “very productive,” adding, “There were many, many points that we agreed on.” At the same time, Trump acknowledged that they “haven’t quite gotten there” when it comes to ending the Ukraine-Russia conflict: “There’s no deal until there’s a deal.”
Trump didn't provide details of their discussion, but vowed to keep Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and other European leaders informed of what they discussed. For his part, Putin characterized the negotiations that unfolded in Anchorage as “very useful.”
At the White House press briefing Tuesday, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt announced that “this meeting came about because the president of Russia asked the president of the United States to meet” following a recent meeting with U.S. Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff.
After Witkoff returned from his meeting with Putin in Russia, "his first phone call was to President Trump," Leavitt said. “And President Trump’s first phone call was to President Zelensky and to our friends in Europe to keep everybody in the loop about where the United States can see moving the ball forward to end this conflict,” she added.
Leavitt stressed that the possibility of a trilateral meeting between Trump, Putin and Zelensky was still on the table when asked about the Ukrainian leader’s absence from Friday’s summit.
Trump’s meeting with Putin on U.S. soil comes nearly six months after Trump had a tense exchange with Zelensky in the Oval Office.
Ryan Foley is a reporter for The Christian Post. He can be reached at: ryan.foley@christianpost.com
