Vladimir Putin appeared visibly uncomfortable as he faced a barrage of questions from US journalists during a press appearance in Alaska on Friday. The Russian leader was asked whether he would 'stop killing civilians' in Ukraine, moments before a summit with Donald Trump.
As reporters were being ushered out of the room, one shouted: 'Mr Putin, will you break ceasefire?' Another followed up: 'Will you commit to not killing any more civilians?' A third journalist asked: 'President Putin, why should President Trump trust your word now?' Putin responded with an inaudible mutter and a confused expression before the press were removed.
The two-and-a-half-hour summit between Putin and Trump failed to produce a deal on Ukraine. Trump later told a press conference: 'There's no deal until there's a deal.' He added that there were 'many, many points' of agreement but one 'most significant' issue remained unresolved. 'We didn't get there, but we have a very good chance of getting there,' he said, noting that ultimately it was up to Ukrainians to agree.
During the 12-minute press conference, no questions were taken, and there was no mention of a ceasefire. After shaking hands, Putin surprised Trump by suggesting a future meeting in Moscow, to which Trump replied: 'Oh, that's an interesting one... I'll get a little heat on that one, but I can see it possibly happening.'
Russian envoy Kirill Dmitriev described the meeting as having gone 'incredibly well', while Ukrainian politician Oleksandr Merezhko called it a 'failure'. Earlier, Putin had praised Trump as his 'dear neighbour' and thanked his administration for striving to 'pave the path towards peace'.
