NO DEAL: "I WILL END THIS WAR A DAY AFTER I TAKE OFFICE..."

 

Trump and Putin End Alaska Summit Without Cease-Fire Deal on Ukraine

President Trump and President Vladimir Putin of Russia concluded their summit in Alaska without declaring agreement on any issue, much less the one Mr. Trump said was at the top of his agenda, ending the war in Ukraine.

After meeting the Russian president, President Trump told European leaders he now favors giving up unoccupied Ukrainian land to Russia to end the fighting, a concession Ukraine has long opposed.

Trump on Saturday split from Ukraine and key European allies after his summit with President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia, backing Mr. Putin’s plan for a sweeping peace agreement based on Ukraine ceding unoccupied territory to Russia, instead of the urgent cease-fire Mr. Trump had said he wanted before the meeting.

Skipping cease-fire discussions would give Russia an advantage in the talks, which are expected to continue on Monday when President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine visits Mr. Trump at the White House. It breaks from a strategy Mr. Trump and European allies, as well as Mr. Zelensky, had agreed to before the U.S.-Russia summit in Alaska.