Russian President Vladimir Putin appeared to catch Donald Trump off guard when he made a rare English comment following the two leaders’ highly anticipated meeting in Alaska on Friday (August 15).
Both presidents arrived in Anchorage on Friday to begin a lengthy discussion to discuss a peace settlement in the midst of the Russia-Ukraine war.
After more than three hours of talks, Putin and Trump gave a 12-minute press conference.
Toward the end of the press conference, Putin startled Trump with one particular comment, which he made in English.
“Next time in Moscow,” he said to Trump.
The president seemed taken startled by the invitation, telling Putin: “That’s an intriguing one; I’ll get some heat on that one.
“But I could see it possibly happening.”
No US president has visited Russia since Barack Obama addressed the G20 Summit in 2013.
Prior to the meeting, Trump was asked if he thought he could broker peace between the two countries, which he admitted he wasn’t sure about.
Trump said: “I’ll tell you what. I’ve had that conversation with him. I’ve had a lot of good conversations with him then I go home and I see that a rocket hit a nursing home or a rocket hit an apartment building, and people are laying dead in the streets.
“So, I guess the answer to that is no, because I’ve had this conversation. I want to end the war. It’s Biden’s war, but I want to end it.
“I’ll be very proud to end this wa:r, along with the five other wars I ended. But, I guess the answer to that is probably no.”
“Economically severe. It will be very severe,” he said. “I’m not doing this for my health, okay, I don’t need it. I’d like to focus on our country, but I’m doing this to save a lot of lives.
“Yeah, very severe.”
