“Our talks were held in a respectful and constructive atmosphere. They were very thorough and useful”, Russian President Vladimir Putin said after meeting with his American counterpart Donald Trump in Anchorage.
Here's what else Putin said after the talks:
“Relations between the Russian Federation and the United States in recent years have sunk to their lowest point since the Cold War. As is known, Russian-American summits have not been held for more than four years. That's a long time. The past period has been very difficult for bilateral relations, and, frankly, they have sunk to their lowest point since the Cold War, and this is not good for either our countries or the world as a whole.
With the advent of the new US administration, bilateral trade has begun to increase, albeit still symbolically. We have many interesting areas for joint work. It is obvious that Russian-American business and investment partnership has enormous potential. Russia and the United States have much to offer each other in trade, energy, the digital sphere, high technologies, and space exploration. Cooperation in the Arctic and the resumption of interregional contacts, including between our Far East and the American West Coast, also seem relevant.
The agreements in Alaska will become a starting point for resolving the Ukrainian problem and restoring relations between Russia and the United States. Russia considered and considers the Ukrainian people to be fraternal, and what is happening is a tragedy and great pain. Our country is sincerely interested in putting an end to this. I agree with President Trump that Ukraine's security must also be guaranteed. Of course, we are ready to work on this. The understanding reached with Trump will open the way to peace in Ukraine.
I remember that in 2022, during my last contacts with the previous administration, I tried to convince my former American colleague that there was no need to bring things to a situation that could lead to serious consequences in the form of military action. And then I said that this was a big mistake. And today we hear President Trump saying that “if I were president, there would be no war“. I think that would really happen. I confirm this. The sooner the conflict ends, the better.
It is quite logical that we meet here, because our countries, although separated by oceans, are close neighbors,” the Russian President concluded.