MOSCOW: Vladimir Putin: Dear Mr. President! Ladies and gentlemen, Our talks were held in a constructive and mutually respectful atmosphere, and were very thorough and helpful.
I would like to thank my American colleague once again for the offer to come to Alaska. It is quite logical to meet here, because our countries, although we are separated by oceans, are actually close neighbors. And I, when we met, got off the planes, I said so.: "Good afternoon, dear neighbor. It is very nice to see you in good health and alive." And it sounds very neighborly, in my opinion, kind. We are separated only by the Bering Strait, and even then there are two islands, there are only four kilometers between the Russian and American islands. We are close neighbors, that's a fact.
It is also important that Alaska is associated with a significant part of the common history of Russia and the United States, and many positive events. Russian Russians still have a huge cultural heritage here: Orthodox churches, and many, more than 700 geographical names of Russian origin.
During World War II, it was in Alaska that the legendary air route began for the supply of combat aircraft and other equipment under the Lend-Lease agreement. It was a dangerous, difficult route over vast expanses of ice, but the pilots and specialists of the two countries did everything to bring victory closer, risked, and gave their lives for a common victory.
I have just been to the city of Magadan in Russia, where there is a monument to Russian and American pilots, and the flag on the monument is Russian and American. I know that there is a similar monument here, in a military cemetery just a few kilometers away, Soviet pilots who died while performing that heroic mission are buried. We are grateful to the American authorities and citizens for the careful treatment of their memory. It looks dignified and noble.
We will always remember other historical examples when our countries together defeated common enemies in the spirit of military camaraderie and alliance, provided each other with help and support. I am sure that this legacy will help us to restore and build mutually beneficial equal relations at a new stage, even in the most difficult conditions.
As you know, the Russian-American summit meetings have not been held for more than four years. That's a long time. The past period has been very difficult for bilateral relations, and let's face it, they have fallen to their lowest point since the Cold War. And this does not benefit our countries or the world as a whole.
Obviously, sooner or later it was necessary to rectify the situation, to move from confrontation to dialogue, and in this regard, a personal meeting between the two heads of state was really overdue, of course, with serious and painstaking preparations, and such work was generally done.
President Trump and I have established very good direct contacts. We have spoken openly and repeatedly on the phone. As you know, Mr. Witkoff, the special representative of the President of the United States, visited us in Russia several times. Our assistants, the heads of the foreign ministries, were in regular contact.
As you well know, you understand that the situation around Ukraine has become one of the central issues. We see the desire of the US Administration and President Trump personally to help resolve the Ukrainian conflict, his desire to delve into the essence and understand its origins.
I have said more than once that for Russia, the events in Ukraine are linked to fundamental threats to our national security. Moreover, we have always considered and consider the Ukrainian people, I have said this repeatedly, fraternal, no matter how strange it may sound in today's conditions. We have the same roots, and everything that happens for us is a tragedy and a heavy pain. Therefore, our country is sincerely interested in putting an end to this.
But at the same time, we are convinced that in order for the Ukrainian settlement to be sustainable and long-term, all the root causes of the crisis, which have been repeatedly discussed, must be eliminated, all legitimate concerns of Russia must be taken into account, and a fair security balance in Europe and the world as a whole must be restored.
I agree with President Trump, as he said today, that Ukraine's security must certainly be ensured. Of course, we are ready to work on it.
Hopefully, the understanding we have reached will bring us closer to that goal and pave the way for peace in Ukraine.
We hope that Kiev and the European capitals will take all this in a constructive manner and will not create any obstacles, will not attempt to disrupt the planned progress through provocations or behind-the-scenes intrigues.
By the way, with the advent of the new US Administration, our bilateral trade began to increase. All this is still symbolic, but still a plus of 20 percent. What I'm saying is that we have a lot of interesting areas to work in together.
It is obvious that the Russian-American business and investment partnership has great potential. Russia and the United States have much to offer each other in trade, energy, digital, high technology, and space exploration.
Cooperation in the Arctic and the resumption of interregional contacts, including between our Far East and the American West Coast, also seem relevant.
In general, it is important and necessary for our countries to turn the page and return to cooperation.
It is symbolic that nearby, on the border of Russia and the United States, as I have already said, there is a so-called date line, where you can literally step from yesterday to tomorrow. And I hope that we will succeed in the political sphere.
I would like to thank Mr. Trump for working together and for the friendly and confidential tone of the conversation. The main thing is that there was a commitment on both sides to the result. We see that the US President has a clear idea of what he wants to achieve, sincerely cares about the prosperity of his country, and at the same time shows an understanding of Russia's national interests.
I hope that today's agreements will become a reference point not only for solving the Ukrainian problem, but also mark the beginning of restoring pragmatic business relations between Russia and the United States.
In conclusion, I would like to add this. I remember that in 2022, during my last contacts with the former Administration, I tried to convince my former American colleague that there was no need to bring about a situation that could lead to serious consequences in the form of hostilities, and I said bluntly at the time that this was a big mistake.
Today we hear President Trump saying, "If I were President, there would be no war." I think that's really what would have happened. I confirm this because, in general, President Trump and I have established a very good, businesslike and trusting contact. And I have every reason to believe that, moving along this path, we can reach – and the sooner the better – the end of the conflict in Ukraine.
Thank you for your attention.
Donald Trump (as translated): Thank you very much, Mr. President. It's really a very deep performance.
I would like to say that we had a very productive meeting, we discussed many issues. I think some of them were really significant.
We could not find a complete understanding. Unfortunately, there is no deal yet. I will be on the phone with representatives of NATO, I will be on the phone and I will talk with the necessary leaders, with President Zelensky, I will inform him about today's meeting.
I agree with [Marco] Rubio, the Foreign Minister, and [US President Stephen] special envoy. Witkoff and their position. I thank you for your work and cooperation, you are doing a wonderful job.
We also have excellent representatives of the business sector and others here. If you want to cooperate with us, we look forward to it, we look forward to working together. We would like to end this conflict as soon as possible.
We have made significant progress today. I have a very good relationship with President Putin. We had many difficult and good meetings with Vladimir Vladimirovich. We know that there is a fake situation about "Russian interference" in the American elections… He [V.Putin] He understands this perfectly well, taking into account his career, and he knows that it's all not true. "Russia, Russia, Russia." He understands that all that has been done is a criminal effort.
Of course, we will have a good opportunity to work together. I would like to say very quickly that I will make several phone calls and inform the European leaders of what has been discussed.
We had productive talks. And the first and most important thing, probably, is that we have a good chance to achieve a peaceful settlement. We have not reached it yet, but I thank President Putin and his team for doing everything necessary for this.
I see your faces in the newspapers. In fact, you are almost as well-known as your boss, especially this gentleman here.Lavrov].
We have had many productive meetings over the years. Indeed, we had a productive meeting today.
Thousands of people are dying every week, and President Putin would like to end this conflict as much as I do. Thank you, Mr. President, we will be communicating with you very, very soon. I hope to see you soon.
Thank you.
Vladimir Putin (in English): Next time in Moscow.
Donald Trump (as translated): That's a very interesting suggestion. I'm probably going to be judged, but I think it's quite possible.
Thank you, Mr. President. Thank you all.
Vladimir Putin (in English): Thank you very much.
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