Putin breaks protocol during news conference in Alaska, claims ‘understanding’ with Trump on Ukraine but no deal yet

Anchorage (Alaska):  In a first joint press conference with a US President since 2018, Russian President Vladimir Putin leaned on history, geography, and ‘neighbourly’ ties with US while keeping the terms on Ukraine war vague.

US President Donald Trump and Russian President Putin addressed a news conference on Friday following their “high-stakes” talks in Alaska which lasted for nearly three hours.

When a US President hosts a foreign leader, the playbook is clear: the American leader speaks first at a joint press conference. But in Anchorage, Alaska, on Friday, Russian President Vladimir Putin tossed that tradition aside.

The Russian President opened the even, speaking in Russian while Donald Trump stood silently about two metres away, with a greeting he said he delivered on the tarmac: “Good day, dear neighbour, hope you’re well.”

Putin stressed Alaska’s history as former Russian territory, framing the US and Russia as bound by geography and a “shared history,” and portraying himself as a partner rather than a rival.

“An in-person meeting was long overdue,” he said, adding that he and Trump now have “very good direct contact”.

Putin devoted much of his opening remarks to the history of US-Russia relations, holding off on any talk of agreements until the final stretch.

When he did address Ukraine, he said the two leaders had reached an agreement to ‘pave the path to peace’ but offered no details.

He argued that the “root causes” of Russia’s concerns must be eliminated before a full deal is possible, a phrase often used to signal demands, including the removal of President Volodymyr Zelensky’s government, that Kyiv and Europe have rejected outright.

He reiterated that Russia sees Ukrainians as “a brotherly people” and said Ukraine’s security “must be ensured,” but avoided specifics on how.

Trump, for his part, acknowledged progress but made clear nothing was final.

“We haven’t quite got there, but we’ve got some headway,” he said.

“There’s no deal until there’s a deal.”

The US President will leave Alaska without an agreement, a reality some of his own advisers had anticipated, given that Ukraine was excluded from the talks and would need to agree to any settlement involving its territory.

Despite the cordial tone and the symbolism of a joint appearance, the first between Putin and a US President since 2018’s Helsinki summit, Putin’s language suggested he has not shifted from long-held positions.

He focused on economic cooperation with the US and cautioned European nations not to “torpedo the nascent progress” from the Alaska meeting.

Russian state media quoted Ambassador Alexander Darchiev as calling the talks “generally positive”.

The joint press conference itself was a rarity. The last time Putin stood beside a US President to take questions was in Helsinki, when Trump was criticised for siding with Russia over US intelligence on 2016 election interference.

When Joe Biden met Putin in Geneva in 2021, he chose to speak alone, denying the Russian leader a chance to share the stage.

By breaking protocol and taking the microphone first in Alaska, Putin ensured the narrative began on his terms, even without a signed peace deal to announce.

US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin addressed a news conference on Friday following their “high-stakes” talks in Alaska which lasted for nearly three hours.

Russian state media quoted Ambassador to the US Alexander Darchiev as saying the atmosphere around the discussions was generally positive.

It has been seven years since Russian President Vladimir Putin stood alongside an American President to take questions. The last time was in Helsinki in 2018, during the now-infamous press conference where Donald Trump appeared to side with Russia over US intelligence agencies on election interference.

When Joe Biden met Putin in Geneva in 2021, he chose not to hold a joint press conference, instead taking questions alone, a move aimed, in part, at denying Putin a platform to shape the narrative of their talks.

–IANS