Alaska — Russian President Vladimir Putin said the Russia–Ukraine war would not have begun if Donald Trump had been in power in 2022, echoing the former U.S. president’s repeated claim.
After a three-hour meeting with Trump in Alaska, Putin told a joint press conference, “I support President Trump’s statement. If he had been in office in 2022, Russia would not have launched an attack on Ukraine.”
Trump has long argued that the conflict would not have erupted under his leadership, criticizing President Joe Biden for failing to prevent the war. Since returning to the White House, Trump has repeatedly claimed he could secure a ceasefire within 24 hours, though six months into his presidency no progress has been made.
Despite their extended talks in Alaska, both leaders failed to reach a concrete agreement on ending the conflict, reports said.
Putin also described relations with Washington during Biden’s administration as extremely strained. “Relations between our two countries reached one of the lowest points since the Cold War. It was neither good for Russia nor for the United States, nor for the world. Eventually, dialogue rather than conflict had become inevitable,” he said.
The meeting has renewed debate over how the war might have unfolded under different U.S. leadership, but the prospects for peace in Ukraine remain uncertain.
