Trump about meeting Putin: "I've always had a great relationship with President Putin" [FILM]

Donald Trump met with Vladimir Putin years later, claiming that he "always had a great relationship" with the Russian leader. Is this the beginning of a breakthrough?

Conduct of Alaska meetings

Hannity: "Before the interview, you said in two minutes you would know... How did he impress you in those two minutes?"

Trump: "You know, I always had a great relationship with President Putin. Together, we could achieve great things, you know. Their land is amazing. Rare earth elements, oil, gas – that's amazing. This is by far the largest area in the world when it comes to the state. I think they have 11 time zones, if you can believe it, it's really big. But we would have done a lot of great things if it weren't for this hoax with Russia, Russia, Russia that stopped us. We'd do something wonderful. But we have the largest – one of the biggest hoaxes. There were other choices, for example, that you know better than anyone else. But it was a rigged election and a terrible thing that happened in 2020. We would have great relationships, but given the circumstances, we did incredibly well – you know, he would look and see what happened, and he would think we were crazy because of the fabricated fraud "Russia, Russia, Russia". So we had something very important and we had a very good meeting today, but we'll see. I mean, you have to make a deal.

Trump: "If we can solve this, it will be a really big day."

Hannity: "Are you convinced that this will be achieved in a shorter time?".

Trump: "In quite short".

Hannity: "Over the next month?".

Trump: "I thought it would be the easiest of all, and it turned out to be the hardest."

Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin met in Anchorage, Alaska. This is Putin's first visit to the US in a decade and the first personal meeting of both leaders since the outbreak of the war in Ukraine in 2022. The talks lasted almost three hours and – although called "constructive" – did not bring a breakthrough.

Personal relations and key quotes

Donald Trump repeatedly emphasized his good relations with Vladimir Putin in official and unofficial statements. In January, he wrote on Truth Social:

"I love the Russian people and have always had a very good relationship with President Putin".

During the conference after the Trump summit, he stated that they had "great connections" and stressed the importance of cooperation between the two world's largest atomic powers. Russian leader did not hide that Trump was "easy to talk to", and chances of ending the war exist, although there are still no specifics.

What did we (no) talk about?

Issue of Ukraine

The main topic of the talks is, of course, the war in Ukraine. Trump stressed that he wanted to make peace quickly, threatening Russia with harsh sanctions in the event of a fiasco of negotiations. Meanwhile, Putin expects the West to recognise Russian territorial conquests and abolish some sanctions.

Experts from the Wall Street Journal and think-tanks comment that the meeting was a success mainly for Putin, who himself gave nothing in return and gained his image. Trump, on the other hand, did not win the expected concessions on Ukraine.

Meeting balance in the eyes of the public

Trump rated his share on "10/10", stressing that "it is better when great powers get along than when they lead an open conflict". Some observers appreciate deescalation and openness to further conversation, others point out that lack of specifics can perpetuate a political deadlock.

Both leaders announced the desire for further discussions; Trump plans to contact Zelenski and European leaders. Putin invited Trump to Moscow – will the next summit bring real change? It's hard to say, but as politicians like to say, "everything is still ahead."