Donald Trump was criticised during his first presidency over a meeting where Trump, Putin and Putin’s interpreter were present – but not a US interpreter. Now he appears to have done it again
The Kremlin has released photographs of Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin speaking privately ahead of their joint press conference last night – without a US interpreter present.
Donald Trump was heavily criticised during his first presidency over a meeting where Trump, Putin and Putin’s interpreter were present – but not a US interpreter.
It was feared Putin would use the opportunity to influence Trump, without any officials from the US there to record what had been discussed.
And last night it appears to have happened again.
It comes after Trump looked tired as he returned to Washington after the summit.
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The photos show Trump and Putin deep in discussion in a corridor at the Anchorage air base, before taking to the stage to make statements to the world.
Three men appear in the photo – Trump, Putin, and a third man carrying a leather hold-all and an A4 note pad. He’s understood to be the interpreter Putin brought with him to Alaska.
He was seen earlier in the visit, sitting to Putin’s left in the meeting room before talks kicked off.
John Bolton, Trump’s former National Security Advisor, noted last night on CNN that Putin speaks English, but often waits for his interpreter to deliver his translation so he has more time to consider his answer.
At the G20 Summit in Buenos Aries in 2018, Trump met with Putin for around 15 minutes without a US note taker or translator present to keep an official record.
The White House downplayed the significance of the talks.
But the New York Times reported at the time that “people familiar with the conversation said it appeared longer and more substantive than the White House has acknowledged.”
Earlier the same year, Trump and Putin met with interpreters on both sides, but the US President confiscated the US interpreter’s notes after the meeting.
And after his arrival in Alaska yesterday, Trump invited Putin to ride with him in his limousine from the airstrip to the meeting venue – with nobody else present in the vehicle.
Posting on Truth Social this morning, Trump indicated a second meeting with Vladimir Putin could follow if talks with Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky on Monday go well.
He made the statement on his own Truth Social website, following hours of talks with Putin in Alaska, which ended with no apparent progress towards a ceasefire – and a lengthy phone call with Zelensky and world leaders.
Trump said the meeting with Putin “went very well, as did a late night phone call with President Zelensky of Ukraine and various European leaders, including the highly respected Secretary General of NATO.”
He went on: “It was determined by all that the best way to end the horrific war between Russia and Ukraine is to go directly to a Peace Agreement, which would end the war, and not a mere Ceasefire Agreemen, which often times do not hold up.”
Russia has consistently rejected the idea of a ceasefire, insisting Putin would only agree to a final treaty to end the conflict.
And Putin last night gave no indication he’d given up on his long-held belief that Ukraine is not a real country, and is entirely Russian territory.
At a press conference following the talks, he repeated his position that it is “sincerely interested in putting an end” to the war in Ukraine, but for that to happen, “all the root causes of the crisis … must be eliminated.”
“All of Russia’s legitimate concerns must be taken into account, and a fair balance in the security sphere in Europe and the world as a whole must be restored,” Putin said.
Following a call with President Trump, Volodymyr Zelensky wrote on X: “In my conversation with President Trump, I said that sanctions should be strengthened if there is no trilateral meeting or if Russia tries to evade an honest end to the war.
“Sanctions are an effective tool. Security must be guaranteed reliably and in the long term, with the involvement of both Europe and the U.S.
“All issues important to Ukraine must be discussed with Ukraine’s participation, and no issue, particularly territorial ones, can be decided without Ukraine.”
Putin last night gave no indication he’d given up on his long-held belief that Ukraine is not a real country, and is entirely Russian territory.
At a press conference following the talks, he repeated his position that it is “sincerely interested in putting an end” to the war in Ukraine, but for that to happen, “all the root causes of the crisis … must be eliminated.”
“All of Russia’s legitimate concerns must be taken into account, and a fair balance in the security sphere in Europe and the world as a whole must be restored,” Putin said.