President Donald Trump insists Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has “gotta make a deal” with Russian President Vladimir Putin following his Alaska summit with the Russian leader.
After the nearly three-hour meeting between the two leaders, with no agreement having been reached on the future of the war in Ukraine, Trump appeared for an interview on Fox News’ ‘Hannity’.
Host Sean Hannity asked what advice he would give to Zelensky and Trump replied: “Make the deal. Gotta make a deal.”
“Russia’s a very big power. And they’re not,” Trump said, adding that the U.S. has supplied Ukraine with weaponry.
Hours earlier, during a joint statement with Putin, where neither took questions, the U.S. president admitted that while “great progress” had been made, he emphasized: “There’s no deal until there’s a deal.” Trump noted that he planned to call Zelensky and NATO members following the meeting.
On Fox News, Hannity asked Trump about next steps, alluding to the U.S. president’s previous comments about a possible meeting between Putin and Zelensky.
“I don’t know if I trust the two of them in a room alone together. I think it would be better if you are there,” the Fox News host suggested.
Trump agreed: “They both want me there, and I’ll be there. You got to see it out.”
What exactly was discussed in the high stakes meeting and what was agreed remains a mystery. Both Putin and Trump used vague terms to describe the meeting and refused to take questions from reporters.
Still, both men flattered one another in front of the world’s cameras.
The Russian president called the United States a “dear neighbor.” He also repeated one of Trump’s claims: the war in Ukraine would not have started if Trump had remained in office after the 2020 election.
Trump touted his “fantastic relationship” with his Russian counterpart and branded the meeting “extremely productive.”
The U.S. president continued laying on the praise for Putin during his interview with Hannity. “I think we’ve agreed on a lot, and I can tell you, the meeting was a very warm meeting,” he said.
Referring to Putin, he continued: “He’s a strong guy, he’s tough as hell and all of that, but the meeting was a very warm meeting between two very important countries, and it’s very good when they get along.”
Earlier in the day, Trump rolled out the red carpet for Putin, greeting him warmly before they jumped into his U.S. limousine, dubbed “The Beast.”
At the end of their joint speech to press Putin suggested the pair next meet on his home turf: Moscow.
“That’s an interesting one, I’ll get a little heat on that one,” Trump replied. “But I could see it possibly happening.”
Following the summit, some pundits slammed Trump’s performance. A Fox News host said he was “steamrolled” by Putin while former White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said Trump’s warm welcome of the Russian leader dealt a “big victory” for Putin.
Despite the flack, Trump told Hannity he believed on a scale of one to 10, the meeting was a 10. “It’s good when two big powers get along, especially when they’re nuclear powers. We’re number one, they’re number two in the world. And it’s a big deal. That’s a big deal,” the U.S. president said.
