Trump Holds Back on New Sanctions After Putin Meeting

Trump and Putin End Alaska Talks With No Deal on Ukraine

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President Donald Trump said he would not impose new sanctions on Russia or its trading partners for now following his meeting with Vladimir Putin, saying the talks went “very well” despite their failure to reach a breakthrough on the war in Ukraine.

“Because of what happened today, I think I don't have to think about it. I may have to think about it in two weeks or three weeks or something, but we don't have to think about that right now. I think the meeting went very well,” Trump told Fox News after the summit, referring to the possibility of imposing tariffs on China for buying Russian oil.

Trump had threatened to hit Moscow with steep secondary sanctions if it did not agree to end its war on Ukraine

Friday's two hour and 45-minute meeting, considerably shorter than the six to seven hours the Kremlin had forecast, took place in Anchorage, Alaska, in a “three-on-three” format.

Trump was joined

Despite a joint lunch and broader talks with additional officials being canceled at the last minute, both leaders struck an optimistic tone.

Trump described the encounter as a “warm” and “productive” meeting, saying the two sides had made progress on unspecified issues.

The U.S. president then put the onus on President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine to negotiate a ceasefire.

Before the summit, Trump had warned that Putin could face “severe consequences” if he refused to halt the fighting. He has also floated the possibility of a future trilateral meeting with Zelensky, a proposal the Kremlin has resisted.

At a joint news conference after the talks, Trump thanked Putin, who in turn invited him to Moscow for their next meeting.

“That's an interesting one," Trump said. “I'll get a little heat on that one, but I — I could see it possibly happening.”

The two leaders then left the stage without taking questions from

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