ARI SHAPIRO, HOST:
This is ALL THINGS CONSIDERED from NPR News. I'm Ari Shapiro in Washington.
MARY LOUISE KELLY, HOST:
And I'm Mary Louise Kelly at the presidential summit in Anchorage, Alaska, where President Trump has just wrapped his meeting with Russian president Vladimir Putin. The two leaders and their delegations talked for about three hours, maybe a little less, here at Joint Base Elmendorf–Richardson. We are on the outskirts of Anchorage. Now, the two leaders are here, of course, to talk about the war in Ukraine, a conflict that Trump says he wants to see end, but it was not at all clear what they may have accomplished today. So to talk it through, let me turn to my right here in this media tent that they're breaking down around us as we speak and invite NPR senior White House correspondent Tamara Keith to share some thoughts. Hi, Tam.
TAMARA KEITH, BYLINE: Hi.
KELLY: OK, so Vladimir Putin spoke first. That was interesting just in and of itself when he's at a U.S. summit on U.S. soil.
KEITH: Though that did give President Trump the last word...
KELLY: That is true.
KEITH: ...Which we will get to. So he did speak first through an interpreter. He referenced an agreement but didn't really provide any details. He said he was sincerely interested in ending his war with Ukraine and considers the countries as "a brotherly nation, however strange it may sound in these conditions." That was a quote.
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PRESIDENT VLADIMIR PUTIN: (Through interpreter) Everything that's happening is a tragedy for us, a terrible wound. Therefore, the country is sincerely interested in putting an end to it. At the same time, we're convinced that in order to make the settlement lasting and long-term, we need to eliminate all the primary roots, the primary causes of that conflict.
KEITH: He didn't really elaborate in those comments about what he meant by primary causes. But in the past, he has said Ukraine's desire to enter NATO was a concern. Also expressed concern about growing closeness between Ukraine and the West. And certainly, since the war has begun, there has been incredible cooperation between the West and Ukraine, including supplying weapons to Ukraine in its defense.
KELLY: OK, so an agreement, maybe, but no details whatsoever. And we heard very little from President Trump. How did his comments stack up next to Putin's?
KEITH: Well, they were certainly shorter, and he did not seem to be particularly happy with the result. You know, coming into this, he had said that he wanted to walk away with a ceasefire on the back...
KELLY: With news of a second meeting...
KEITH: Right.
KELLY: ...Maybe with Zelenskyy next time. Yeah.
KEITH: Exactly. And, you know, the banner behind their lectern said pursuing peace. But there was no talk of peace in the president's remarks. He said, there's no deal until there is a deal. He called it productive, but he said we didn't get there. He said he would be calling allies but didn't really give any details of what was discussed or what progress was made. And he left quickly without taking any questions. He is usually very chatty. But here's what he said about what they did agree on.
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PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: There were many, many points that we agreed on, most of them, I would say. A couple of big ones that we haven't quite gotten there, but we've made some headway. So there's no deal until there's a deal.
KELLY: So many, many points they apparently agreed on, none of which were shared with us today.
KEITH: However, as they walked away, we shouted questions about what they agreed on and what they didn't agree on. And they were not - they seemed not tempted to turn around.
KELLY: Neither of them seemed inclined to turn around. Tam, I want to share as we were exiting the room, where they did not take questions, you and I were talking about if this were a movie, you would say they got the set, this dramatic background. They got the sound effects, but they didn't seem to have a script.
KEITH: Right.
KELLY: Nobody wrote it.
KEITH: And that is the issue. This was thrown together in a week. A lot of the diplomatic legwork doesn't appear to be done. They didn't have any deliverables locked in advance, but they did have the flyovers with the bomber and the fighter planes. They had the red carpet, and they had the handshake with Air Force One in the background. They had all of that, but they didn't have a path to peace.
KELLY: NPR senior White House correspondent here in the media tent being broken down around us as we speak. Thanks, Tam.
KEITH: You're welcome. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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