After the historic summit in Alaska between President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, the Republican leader was interviewed by journalist Sean Hannity where he announced updates on a possible ceasefire in the war in Ukraine.
First, Trump told Hannity that an agreement is close to being finalized and that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Putin plan to organize a meeting to try to reach a ceasefire that would end the war between the two countries.
"Now, it really depends on President Zelensky for this to happen," Trump confessed. "I'd also say that European nations have to get a bit more involved. But it depends on President Zelensky... If they want, I'll be at that next meeting."
Trump ya se había reunido con su par ucraniano unas semanas antes de la cumbre con Putin.
Biden united Russia and China.
The meeting between the leaders of the two world powers took place at an air base in Alaska, marking the first time the Kremlin leader set foot on Western soil since he invaded Ukraine in February 2022.
Trump and Putin negotiated on topics that included NATO's deployment in the region, security measures, and territorial issues. The Republican leader said that, given the productivity of the meeting, for now he isn't considering imposing retaliatory tariffs on countries that buy Russian oil, such as China or India, although he might have to consider it "in two or three weeks."
In another part of the televised interview, Trump highlighted the geopolitical disaster caused by the policies of his Democratic predecessors. "Biden did something unthinkable. He pushed for it—and Obama did too. I stopped it, and then a tragedy happened; the elections were a tragedy—but he did something unthinkable. He united Russia and China, that's not a good thing," he stated.
Trump se reunió con Putin en Alaska.
"Next time, in Moscow"
Trump revealed to Hannity one of the most interesting moments of the meeting. In it, Putin confided to him that the 2020 presidential elections were rigged due to the existence of mail-in voting. "Putin said that no country has mail-in voting. It's impossible to have mail-in voting and have honest elections. He told me this because we talked about 2020. He told me: they won those elections by a huge margin."
In the press conference following the summit, both leaders highlighted the progress made at the negotiating table. "There are very few points left, some aren't that important, one is probably the most significant. But we have a very good chance of reaching an agreement. We didn't achieve it today, but we have a very good possibility," was the message Trump left.
Putin, meanwhile, also spoke in general terms and shared the same sentiment. "We hope that the understanding we've reached paves the way for peace in Ukraine," he stated. While Trump reflected on a second meeting, the former KGB leader smiled and said in English: "Next time, in Moscow."
