Trump-Putin meeting updates as it happened: US, Russian presidents fail to strike deal in Alaska to end Ukraine war

Thanks for joining our live coverage of the talks between Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump in Alaska over the future of the years-long war in Ukraine.

Ultimately, no deal in terms of a ceasefire or end to the conflict came to eventuate. But both leaders described the meeting as warm and positive. Trump said while the duo agreed on many points, there were several sticking points, including a “couple of big ones”.

To recap:

• Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin were together for more than 2½ hours in Anchorage, Alaska – but there was no deal to end the war in Ukraine.
• The pair held a news conference immediately after the talks concluded. It lasted 12 minutes and no questions were taken.
• After speaking extensively about the two countries’ long history and efforts in World War II, Putin said there was an “agreement” but failed to provide more information. He said the situation in Ukraine had to do with “fundamental threats to our security”.
• In contrast, Trump said there were “many points agreed to” but that “there’s no deal until there’s a deal”. “We really made some great progress today,” he insisted.
• Putin returned to Moscow in the minutes after the conference, and Trump returned to Washington, DC, about an hour later.
• In an interview with Fox News immediately after the press conference, Trump told host Sean Hannity the two leaders agreed on a lot, but that it was up to Ukraine to “make a deal”.

North America correspondent Michael Koziol has everything you need to know about the historic talks here.

The meeting between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin and their advisers has ended.

The two leaders are speaking live now.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Putin and Trump made “comprehensive statements” after the talks, so a decision was made not to take questions from journalists, Russian state news agency RIA Novosti reported.

Putin and Trump spoke after the talks but left the room full of reporters without taking questions.

RIA Novosti quoted Peskov as describing the talks as “very positive” and saying that the summit allowed Moscow and Washington to “continue to confidently move together along the path of searching for [Ukraine conflict] resolution options”.

AP

The interview with Hannity has just ended, stretching a little over 30 minutes.

Asked about the timeline for an end to the war, Trump responded: “I thought this would be the easiest of them all, and this was the most difficult”, in an apparent reference to his vowing to end the war in his first 24 hours in office.

His famed desire for a Nobel Peace Prize for ending the Ukraine war might be a way off – but he said he should get it for ending other conflicts around the world, including the civil war in Sudan.

Hannity asked Trump about future meetings between Zelensky and Putin: “I don’t know if I trust the two of them alone together,” Hannity said.

“Well they both want me there,” Trump responded. “I’ll be there.”

We’re not getting a lot more detail about the conversation here. But Trump has just said this:

“I think we’ve agreed on a lot, and I can tell you, the meeting was a very warm meeting. He’s a strong guy, tough as hell, all of that. But the meeting was a very warm meeting between two very important countries. And it’s very good when they get along.

“I think we’re pretty close to a deal here. Now look, Ukraine has to agree to it.

“We, I think, are close to a deal, but I don’t like saying it. I always say, if I’m really close, I say 50-50 because so many things can happen.”

Hannity asked for what advice he would give Ukraine: “Make a deal.”

Fox News is now playing its interview with Trump following his meeting with Putin.

He is speaking to host Sean Hannity in the room in Anchorage, Alaska, where the two leaders met. Hannity began the interview by praising Trump’s handling of the situation and the perfectly orchestrated military flyover that occurred as Putin arrived, before repeating Putin’s claims that the war would have been over by now if Trump, and not former US president Joe Biden, was in charge when Russia invaded in 2022.

Trump said Zelensky and Putin were due to meet next, and he would be open to joining that meeting.

“It’s now up to Zelensky to get it done,” the president said. “And I would say the European nations have to get involved.”

Air Force One departed Elmendorf Air Force Base about 15 minutes ago, CNN reported, and is headed back to Washington, DC.

Trump’s flying back into another saga: his administration has agreed to leave the city’s police chief in charge of her own department after a court hearing this morning over his attempt to take control of the police force in Washington.

We’ve got details on that here.

Here’s what you need to know about the day’s events:

• Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin were together for more than 2½ hours in Anchorage, Alaska – but there was no deal to end the war in Ukraine.
• The pair held a news conference immediately after the talks concluded. It lasted 12 minutes and no questions were taken.
• After speaking extensively about the two countries’ long history and efforts in World War II, Putin said there was an “agreement” but failed to provide more information. He said the situation in Ukraine had to do with “fundamental threats to our security”.
• In contrast, Trump said there were “many points agreed to” but that “there’s no deal until there’s a deal”. “We really made some great progress today,” he insisted.
• In the last few minutes, Putin has boarded his plane.
• Trump is currently recording an interview with Sean Hannity of Fox News. The network is advising it will air in about an hour (11am AEST). We’ll watch it and bring you updates live.