U.S. President, Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin made no breakthrough on Ukraine at their high-stakes summit on Friday, pointing to areas of agreement and rekindling a friendship but offering no news on a ceasefire.
After an abrupt ending to three hours of talks with aides, Trump and Putin offered warm words but took no questions from reporters. This is highly unusual for the media-savvy US president.
“We’re not there yet, but we’ve made progress. There’s no deal until there’s a deal,” Trump said.
He called the meeting “extremely productive” with “many points” agreed. Although he did not offer specifics.
“There are just a very few that are left. Some are not that significant, one is probably the most significant,” Trump said without elaborating.
Putin also spoke in general terms of cooperation in a joint press appearance that lasted just 12 minutes.
“We hope that the understanding we have reached will… pave the way for peace in Ukraine,” Putin said.