Alaska [US], August 16 : US President Donald Trump on Friday (local time) said that he and Russian President Vladimir Putin had a "productive" meeting aimed at reducing the human toll of the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
Speaking at a joint press conference in Anchorage, Alaska, Trump claimed that thousands of lives could be saved weekly if both sides acted, adding that Putin shared the same goal.
"We're going to stop, 5,000, 6,000, 7,000 people a week from being killed, and President Putin wants to see that as much as I do," Trump said.
He added that several points were agreed upon during the discussion, a few key issues remain unresolved.
"I believe we had a very productive meeting. There were many, many points that we agreed on. Most were a couple of big ones that we haven't quite got there, but we had some headway. There's no deal until we have a deal. I will call up NATO in a little while. I will call up the various people that I think are appropriate. And I'll, of course, call up President [Volodymyr] Zelenskyy and tell him about today's meeting. It's ultimately up to them," he said.
Trump praised the work of officials from both sides, including US and Russian representatives, saying that their efforts contributed to progress.
"They'll have to agree with what Marco and Steve and some of the great people from the Trump administration who've come here, and Scott and John and our greater leaders have done a phenomenal job, and have tremendous Russian business representatives here, and I think everybody wants to deal with us. We've become the hottest country anywhere in the world in a short period of time. We look forward to that and try to get this over with. We really made some great progress today," he said.
He also highlighted his longstanding rapport with Putin. "I've always had a fantastic relationship with President Putin, with Vladimir. We had many, many tough meetings," Trump said.
Trump further noted that the 'Russia hoax' had previously complicated US-Russia relations, but said both leaders recognised it as a hindrance.
"We were interfered with the Russia, Russia, Russia hoax, but he understood it, and I think he's seen things in the course of his career. He's seen it all but had to put up with the Russia, Russia, Russia hoax. He knew it was a hoax, I knew it was a hoax, but what was done was very criminal. It made it harder to deal with as a country in terms of the business that with the things we had to deal with. We will have a good chance once this is over," he said.
Concluding, Trump expressed optimism about reaching a meaningful decision.
"Some points are not that significant. One is probably the most significant but we have a very good chance of getting there. We didn't get there, but we have a very good chance of getting there. I would like to thank President Putin and his entire team. We have had good, productive meetings over the years and hope to have that in the future. Let's do the most productive one right now," he said.
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