India’s BIG statement on Trump-Putin Alaska summit, says, ‘The way forward…’

US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin (Image credit: AP)

India on Saturday, i.e., August 16, reacted to the meeting between US President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in Alaska, emphasising that the “way forward can only be achieved through dialogue and diplomacy.” The remarks come as Trump and Putin held a high-stakes meeting in Alaska to arrive on a common ground for a potential ceasefire in Ukraine. 

Interestingly, Putin landed in the States for the first time in a decade and in Alaska for the first time. “India welcomes the Summit meeting in Alaska between US President Donald Trump and President Vladimir Putin of Russia. Their leadership in the pursuit of peace is highly commendable,” a statement of the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said.

“India appreciates the progress made in the Summit. The way forward can only be through dialogue and diplomacy. The world wants to see an early end to the conflict in Ukraine,” it added. 

‘Quite productive’

Although the two leaders didn’t provide details on any concrete breakthrough achieved through the meeting, they did say the meeting was quite “productive”. Meanwhile, Donald Trump has invited his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, to the Oval office for talks. 

“President Zelenskyy will be coming to D.C., Oval Office, on Monday afternoon,” Trump posted on Truth Social, adding, “If all works out, we will then schedule a meeting with President Putin.” Pitching for a peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine, the US President added, “The best way to end the horrific war between Russia and Ukraine is to go directly to a Peace Agreement, which would end the war, and not a mere Ceasefire Agreement”.

In his first remarks following the high-stakes meeting between Trump and Putin, Volodymyr Zelensky said he had a “long and substantive” call with Trump following the Alaska talks. The Ukrainian President expressed gratitude towards his US counterpart, stating the Washington meeting would be used to “discuss all of the details regarding ending the killing and the war.”

‘No deal until there’s a deal’

Post the Alaska talks, Trump announced “no deal until there’s deal”, after Putin claimed that the two leaders had discussed in detail an understanding on Ukraine and warned Europe not to “torpedo the nascent progress”. Although the two leaders did not make an official announcement involving a concrete agreement from the talks, they said the meeting was “productive”.

Meanwhile, Donald Trump conceded that “we haven’t quite got there”, declaring the next steps would be discussed with President Zelenskyy and NATO leaders. However, the US President did acknowledge that he and Putin had made some significant progress towards resolving the hostilities in Ukraine but provided no details on the same. “I believe we had a very productive meeting,” Trump said. “We haven’t quite got there, but we’ve made some headway. So, there’s no deal until there’s a deal.”