U.S. President Donald Trump stated that while he and Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed on some points regarding a ceasefire in the Ukraine war, they were unable to resolve all major issues.
On the 15th (local time), President Trump held a joint press conference after meeting with President Putin at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska. He said, "We had a very productive conversation. There were several points on which we reached agreement."
He added, "I would say there are still some major issues on which we did not reach full agreement, but we made some progress. However, nothing is agreed until everything is agreed."
He said, "I will call NATO in a little while. I will call several people whom I consider appropriate, and I will first speak to President Zelensky of Ukraine to inform him about today's meeting."
He continued, "There is very little left on which we have not agreed. Some of these are not that important. One issue is probably the most important, but there is a very high possibility that we will reach an agreement on that."
However, he did not specify which issues remained unresolved. President Trump said, "I have always had a fantastic relationship with President Putin, Vladimir," and claimed that his relationship with Putin was "obstructed" because of the 'Russia hoax.'
He said, "He (Putin) knew it was a hoax, and I knew it was a hoax, but very criminal things happened, and this made it much harder for us to conduct business or handle anything we wanted to do between our countries. However, after it is over, we will have a good opportunity to resolve these matters."
The 'Russia hoax' mentioned by President Trump refers to the so-called 'Russiagate,' which alleged that Russia interfered in the 2016 U.S. presidential election in collusion with the Trump campaign to help him win. He has claimed that the Barack Obama administration orchestrated this at the time. President Trump also said that the killing must stop in the Ukraine war, and that "President Putin wants to see that just as much as I do."
Meanwhile, he suggested the possibility of further negotiations by saying, "We will speak with you (Putin) very soon, and probably see you again soon." However, unlike usual, President Trump did not take any questions during the press conference.
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