Trump abandons push for Ukraine ceasefire after Putin meeting

After seven months of demanding a ceasefire in Russia’s war on Ukraine, President Trump, following his meeting with Russian dictator Vladimir Putin in Alaska, abruptly announced early Saturday that he was abandoning his push for a ceasefire and instead pursuing a permanent end to the war.

“The meeting with President Vladimir Putin of Russia went very well, as did a late night phone call with President Zelenskyy of Ukraine, and various European leaders, including the highly respected Secretary General of NATO,” Trump wrote on Truth Social overnight Saturday after he flew back from the Alaska summit with Putin.

“It was determined by all that the best way to end the horrific war between Russia and Ukraine is to go directly to Peace Agreement, which would end the war, and not a mere Ceasefire Agreement, which often times do not hold up,” his post continued.

Trump also said that he would host Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the White House on Monday.

“If all works out, we will then schedule a meeting with President Putin,” he wrote.

Putin made no mention of a possible three-way meeting with Trump and Zelenskyy in his brief remarks after the three hour meeting with Trump and top aides at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, on Friday.

The summit ended slightly earlier than had been expected, without the working lunch between Putin and Trump that had been planned; and the two leaders took no questions at what was initially billed as a joint press conference.

While Putin referred obliquely to an “agreement” that had been reached, Trump said that while they had made progress, there were still some points of dispute.

“We didn’t get there, but we have a good shot of getting there,” Trump said, calling it a very productive meeting.

“There’s no deal until there’s a deal,” Trump said. “I will call up NATO…and [European leaders] and of course call up President Zelenskyy and tell him about today’s meeting. It’s ultimately up to them.”

Putin: Still need to eliminate ‘primary causes’ of the war

Putin in his remarks indicated that he was still determined to eradicate what he called the “primary roots” of the conflict, rather than agree to a short-term ceasefire of Russia’s full fledged invasion of Ukraine.

“We’re convinced that in order to make the settlement lasting long term, we need to eliminate all the primary roots, the primary causes of the conflict