Trump says Putin avoided ‘severe consequences’ for now

Russian President Vladimir Putin was cooperative enough in looking to end the Ukraine war at the summit on Friday to forestall “severe” sanctions, said President Trump.

Mr. Trump entered the summit in Alaska threatening to bring down the economic hammer on Russia — what he termed “severe consequences” — if Mr. Putin wasn’t serious about working toward a peace deal.

“Well, because of what happened today, I think I don’t have to think about that now,” Mr. Trump said on Fox News’ “Hannity” after the sitdown with the Russian president. “I may have to think about it in two weeks or three weeks or something, but we don’t have to think about that right now.”

He said the meeting “went very well.”

Mr. Trump didn’t give details about what progress was made during his three-hour discussion with Mr. Putin. But he said there was an opportunity to advance the process with three-way peace talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Mr. Putin and himself.

Mr. Trump said Mr. Putin wanted the three-way summit.

Mr. Trump had a range of options open to him if he was not satisfied with what he heard from Mr. Putin in Alaska, including more economic sanctions on Russia and secondary sanctions on its largest oil and gas customers: China and India.

Cutting off that lifeline would be devastating to Russia’s already struggling economy.

At a joint press conference immediately following the summit, Mr. Trump said he and Mr. Putin didn’t reach a concrete deal.

“There’s no deal until there’s a deal,” he said. “We didn’t get there, but we have a very good chance of getting there.”

Mr. Trump said that both sides were close on the “most significant” difference. He did not say what those differences were or how large the gulf remains.

At the press conference, the Russian leader offered a more optimistic view of the meeting. He said Russia sees that the U.S. and Mr. Trump “personally” want to help facilitate the “resolution of the Ukrainian conflict.”

“As I’ve said, the situation in Ukraine has to do with fundamental threats to our security. Moreover, we’ve always considered the Ukrainian nation, and I’ve said it multiple times, a brotherly nation,” Mr. Putin said. “However strange it may sound in these conditions, we have the same roots, and everything that’s happening is a tragedy for us and a terrible wound.”

The war has resulted in hundreds of thousands of casualties on both sides since Mr. Putin, seeking to reestablish Russia’s dominance over its neighbor, launched an invasion of Ukraine in 2022.