Russian President Vladimir Putin seemingly caught Donald Trump off guard as he made a rare comment in English following the pair’s highly anticipated meeting in Alaska on Friday (August 15).
Both presidents arrived in Anchorage on Friday to begin a lengthy meeting about a peace deal amidst the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.
Following more than three hours of conversations, both Putin and Trump appeared before the press for a 12-minute conference.
However, there was no ceasefire or peace deal to come from the meeting, with Trump explaining: “We didn’t get there, but we have a very good chance of getting there.”
Trump added: “I’m going to start making a few phone calls and tell them what happened. But we had an extremely productive meeting, and many points were agreed to, and there are just a very few that are left.
“Some are not that significant. One is probably the most significant.”
Towards the end of the press conference, Putin surprised Trump with one comment in particular, which he said in English.
“Next time in Moscow,” he said to Trump.
The president seemed rather taken aback at the invite, telling Putin: “That’s an interesting one, I’ll get a little heat on that on
“But I could see it possibly happening.”
No US president has visited Russia since Barack Obama attended the G20 Summit back in 2013.
Prior to the meeting, Trump was asked whether he believed he could broker peace between the two countries – something he conceded that he wasn’t sure whether he could do.
Trump said: “I’ll tell you what. I’ve had that conversation with him. I’ve had a lot of good conversations with him then I go home and I see that a rocket hit a nursing home or a rocket hit an apartment building, and people are laying dead in the streets.
“So, I guess the answer to that is no, because I’ve had this conversation. I want to end the war. It’s Biden’s war, but I want to end it.
“I’ll be very proud to end this war, along with the five other wars I ended. But, I guess the answer to that is probably no.”
Speaking to reporters on board Air Force One ahead of the meeting, he was asked what the consequences would be for Russia if Putin failed to show a willingness to talk about ending the war in Ukraine.
“Economically severe. It will be very severe,” he said. “I’m not doing this for my health, okay, I don’t need it. I’d like to focus on our country, but I’m doing this to save a lot of lives.
“Yeah, very severe.”