Trump fails to reach an agreement with Putin and will host Zelensky at the White House on Monday.

WashingtonUkrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced this morning that Donald Trump will receive him at the White House on Monday, after the meeting between the US president and Vladimir Putin ended without any agreement on the war in Ukraine on Friday. The Ukrainian leader held what he described as a "long and substantive" conversation this Saturday with Trump, with whom he agreed that on Monday they would "discuss all the details regarding the end of the killing and the war."

The expectations for a peace agreement in Ukraine that had been raised by the Alaska meeting in the days prior fell short when it came to reality. The outcome of the meeting with Putin fell far short of the red carpet rolled out on the runway and the fighter jets circling the military base to welcome them. After a three-hour meeting, Donald Trump announced this Friday (local time) alongside Vladimir Putin that there is still no agreement on the war in Ukraine. "We had an extremely productive meeting and many points were agreed upon," the US president told reporters. "There are only a few left [to close the deal]. Some are not very significant; one is probably the most significant. But we have a good chance of getting there: we are not there, but we have a good chance of getting there."

The announcement was brief and swift. The American, who loves to talk for hours on end, this time ended the appearance abruptly without allowing reporters to ask questions. Trump once again sees the coveted, yet unrealistic, Nobel Peace Prize slipping away while the Russian president manages to buy more time to consolidate the invasion of Ukraine. The former KGB spy reminded the businessman The world is not Manhattan.

The most significant point of the no-deal Trump referred to is probably the territorial division of Ukraine. In Wednesday's videoconference with European partners and President Zelensky, the Republican leader promised that there would be no territorial concessions without Ukraine being included. Trump has kept his word, which did not exempt him from being able to draft a distribution plan with Putin before the "trilateral" meeting the tycoon has so championed. A meeting that, by the way, neither leader mentioned and which is called into question by the announcement of a bilateral meeting on Monday between Trump and Zelensky. However, when Trump said they would speak again soon to finalize the details of the agreement, Putin allowed himself to joke that the next meeting "will be in Moscow."

The Ukrainian, in addition to seeing how he has been excluded from the negotiating table while the invader is granted the role of main interlocutor for the future of his country, has also had to endure Putin's words lamenting the conflict as "a deep wound" to the Russian brotherhood. "We have always considered Ukraine as a nation, and as we have said many times, as a sister nation. As strange as it may sound in this context, we have the same roots, and everything that is happening is a tragedy and a terrible wound for us," said Putin, who has not stopped bombing the Ukrainians.

The Russian leader was the first to speak after the meeting. Putin highlighted "the common heritage" that Alaska represents for Russia and the United States. The Arctic territory was sold to the US in the 19th century for $7.2 million at the time. Unlike Trump, who immediately afterward said that no agreement had been reached, Putin did speak of an understanding. "I would like to hope that the agreement we have reached together will help us achieve that goal and lay the groundwork for peace in Ukraine. We hope that Kiev and Europe will view it constructively and not hinder the work."

Putin did not provide further details about this supposed agreement and insisted on the need to "eliminate" the root causes of the conflict. Without explicitly stating so, the Russian spoke of Ukraine's commitment not to join NATO. "I agree with President Trump [...] that naturally Ukraine's security should also be guaranteed," he added.

Although Putin and Trump appeared alone on stage, the face-to-face meeting was a three-way affair. Unlike Helsinki in 2018, where the two leaders met alone with a single interpreter, this time the meeting room was attended by Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, who was praised by Putin during his speech about brotherhood with the Americans, highlighting his work. As for the Russian entourage, Putin was assisted by Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Kremlin aide Yuri Uyzakov.

Red carpet for Putin

Trump welcomed Putin to Anchorage on Friday morning, right on the red carpet, just after 11 a.m. local time. The effusive handshake between the two leaders cemented the United States' recognition of Russia as a key player in the Ukrainian war, as well as the American's barely concealed admiration for the Russian. The image of Putin stepping onto American soil and being welcomed by Trump was reminiscent of the Cold War era, when Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev visited the United States in September 1959. A parallel that the former KGB agent and his entourage probably liked. His Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov, had been seen wearing a USSR T-shirt before the meeting.

In an even more unusual image, after a pompous landing, the two leaders left together in the same limousine, where there didn't appear to be an interpreter. Putin speaks enough English to hold a conversation with Trump. The idea of the two leaders in the car with no one but the driver adds mystery to the story. a long relationship marked by secrecy.

On board Air Force One en route to Alaska, Trump had made it clear that he wanted to achieve a ceasefire that same day: "I want to see a ceasefire quickly. I don't know if it will be today, but I won't be happy if it's not today. Everyone says it can't be today, but I just say I want it." But Putin has never been interested in ending the war, because over time it has become a key element in sustaining his regime.

For the Russian leader, it was key to convince Trump that he was truly open to a ceasefire because it would kill two birds with one stone: buy time and crack the bridge that the Europeans and Volodymyr Zelensky have rebuilt with Washington. The nervousness of Europe and the Ukrainian president lay in his exclusion from the negotiating table and his inability to fully trust Trump. The Helsinki precedent and the White House's lowering of expectations in the days leading up to the meeting were ominous signs for Kiev and the Old Continent, and they have come to pass. Putin's warning to them not to stand in the way of a ceasefire agreement confirms this.

On Air Force One en route to Alaska, the Republican also stated for the first time in public that he was open to the "possibility" of offering security guarantees in Ukraine, "along with other countries in Europe and other countries." However, so as not to frighten Putin, he clarified that Kiev's protection would not be through NATO. Trump stated that, although possible land exchanges would have to be discussed during the meeting, it would have to be Ukraine "that makes this decision." He stated that There will be no territorial concessions without UkraineThe Republican did not rule out discussions in Anchorage about possible ground to be ceded. Washington and Moscow will outline the scenario, and in a second meeting at the White House, which Trump wants to be "trilateral"—with Zelensky present—they would present the draft agreement to Ukraine for him to sign. "I'm not here to negotiate for Ukraine. I'm here to get him to a table," Trump told reporters. He also said that Europe doesn't tell him what to do.