Putin Says He Reached 'Understandings' With Trump on Ending Ukraine War
Russian president reports progress after Alaska meeting but gives no clear commitment to US-brokered talks with Kyiv
Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Saturday he had reached "understandings" with US President Donald Trump on steps that could lead to an end to the war in Ukraine after their meeting in Alaska last month, but he stopped short of committing to direct talks brokered by the United States.
Speaking at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in Tianjin, Putin said discussions with Trump produced mutual understanding on how the conflict might be resolved, yet he did not indicate whether Moscow would accept a peace process involving Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky that was to be mediated by Trump. Trump had reportedly set a Monday deadline for a response from Putin; Putin did not confirm whether he had met that timetable.
The Russian leader also defended his decision to order the invasion of Ukraine and renewed his criticism of the West, repeating long-standing Kremlin assertions that Western policies contributed to the outbreak of hostilities. Putin met Chinese President Xi Jinping and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the sidelines of the summit and thanked them for what he described as support and their efforts to "facilitate the resolution of the Ukrainian crisis."
Following the Alaska meeting, US special envoy Steve Witkoff said Putin had agreed to security guarantees for Ukraine as part of a potential future peace deal. Kremlin officials have not publicly confirmed those details, and it remained unclear whether the understandings Witkoff described were formal commitments or exploratory discussions. The US account prompted immediate interest from allies and analysts tracking prospects for diplomacy to end more than two years of fighting.
China and India, two of Russia's largest crude oil customers, have continued to buy Russian energy during the conflict, a trade pattern that Western officials have criticized as propping up Moscow's economy. Putin's remarks in Tianjin underscored the strategic importance of those relationships to Russia amid sustained Western sanctions and economic pressure linked to the war effort.
The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, a Eurasian political, economic and security grouping that includes China, India and Russia, provided the diplomatic setting for the exchanges. Putin's comments added fresh international focus on whether high-level, bilateral meetings between Putin and Trump might convert into a formal negotiation track involving Kyiv, and what role other powers could play in facilitating talks.
Western governments have so far maintained that any credible peace process must safeguard Ukrainian sovereignty and territorial integrity, while Moscow has framed its objectives differently. Putin's public references to "understandings" do not, on their own, resolve those substantive differences, and officials on all sides have emphasized that significant gaps remain.
Diplomats and analysts said verification and detail would be essential to assess any proposed security guarantees or framework for talks. For now, Moscow's lack of confirmation of specific concessions or agreements means the substance and next steps of any potential diplomatic initiative stemming from the Alaska meeting remain unresolved.