Big progress on Russia, stay tuned, Trump says day after meeting with Putin

A day after meeting Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska, US President Donald Trump posted a brief and cryptic message on his Truth Social account on Sunday, suggesting some big developments behind closed doors. In his post, Trump wrote, “Big progress on Russia, stay tuned.” No further details were provided by the US President.

The meeting between the US and Russian leaders concluded without any agreement to stop Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, leaving European governments to consider how to further pressure the Kremlin.

The two presidents spoke for three hours and highlighted some points of agreement, but no major breakthrough was reached to end the conflict that has caused tens of thousands of deaths and widespread destruction in Ukraine.

Notably, the post came just minutes after US Secretary of State Marco Rubio suggested that the recent meeting between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin included discussions with the potential to advance efforts to end the war in Ukraine.

“There were things discussed at the Trump-Putin meeting that are potentials for breakthroughs to end the Ukraine war,” Rubio said. While he cautioned against expecting an immediate resolution, he noted, “I’m not saying we’re on the verge of a Russia-Ukraine peace deal, but we saw enough movement to justify a follow-up meeting with President Zelenskyy.”

Rubio also warned that if a peace agreement cannot be reached, “there will have to be additional consequences for Russia.”

Rubio also added that the United States will continue efforts to help bring Russia’s war in Ukraine to an end, but success is not guaranteed. In an interview with CBS’s Face the Nation, Rubio acknowledged the limits of diplomacy in the current situation.

“If peace is not going to be possible here and this is just going to continue on as a war, people will continue to die by the thousands,” he said. “We may unfortunately wind up there, but we don’t want to wind up there.”

Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is set to meet Trump in Washington on Monday, accompanied by leaders from Britain, Germany and France. The European leaders aim to support Zelenskyy as Trump urges Ukraine to accept a swift peace agreement.

Ahead of the meeting, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer held talks on Sunday to strengthen Zelenskyy’s position. They focused on securing strong security guarantees for Ukraine, including a potential US role.

Speaking in Brussels on Sunday, Zelenskyy said peace talks should be based on the current front lines of the conflict with Russia. “We need real negotiations, which means we can start where the front line is now,” Zelenskyy said.

He called for a ceasefire as a necessary step before negotiating a final deal, a view supported by European leaders.

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