Donald Trump stated that he and Russian president Vladimir Putin had “made great progress” during their bilateral meeting on Friday. However, he said he still needed to make “a couple of phone calls” before an official deal could be announced.

Trump and Putin held a summit in Anchorage, Alaska on Friday for almost three hours. The goal was to end the war in Ukraine.

As the meeting evolved from a one-on-1 format to a 3-on-3, Steve Witkoff and Secretary of State Marco Rubio joined him. The Russian Delegation consisted of Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, and foreign affairs advisor Yuri Ushakov.

Trump, Rubio and Witkoff did not go into details, but told reporters that Ukraine had to “agree”, with any framework they discussed with the Putin delegation.

I will contact NATO shortly. I’ll call the people I think appropriate. I will, of course call President [Volodymyr] Zelensky to tell him about the meeting. “It’s up to them,” Trump stated. He added, “I will start to make a few calls and tell them what happened.”

Putin was the first to speak at the press conference, telling reporters that negotiations had been “held in an atmosphere of mutual respect and constructive dialogue.”

The Russian President said, “We had very thorough and useful negotiations. Thank Donald Trump for proposing Alaska Summit.”

Putin stated that Russia was “sincerely interested” to end the conflict. However, in order to achieve a “lasting peace,” they must address the “primary causes of conflict” as well as Russia’s legitimate concerns.

“I agree that the security of Ukraine must be guaranteed, just as President Trump said today. We are ready to do that.” He said. “I hope the agreement we reached together will bring us closer to that goal and pave the way towards peace in Ukraine.”

Putin told reporters: “Me and Donald Trump have developed a very business-like, trustworthy relationship…we can bring an end to the conflict with Ukraine.”

Putin, in a sarcastic remark directed at European leaders said that he hoped the latter would not “torpedo” any nascent advances.

He said that there is “potential” to expand the US-Russian relationship and also for cooperation in the Arctic.

Putin said: “We will never forget other historical examples when our countries defeated enemies together, in a spirit of battle camaraderie. We will remember how we helped each other and supported each other. “I’m sure that this heritage will help to rebuild and foster equal and mutually beneficial ties, even in the most difficult conditions.”

Putin echoed what Trump has repeatedly said about the Ukraine War.

The Russian president said, “When Trump says that if he had been president at the time, there wouldn’t have been a war, then it is true.” “I can confirm this.”

Trump thanked Putin for his “profound remarks” and called the meeting “very productive”.

He told reporters that “there were many, many things we agreed on.” “I’d say there are a few big ones. We haven’t reached our goal yet, but we’ve made progress.

The president said, “We had a very productive meeting. Many points were agreed upon. There are only a few left.” “Some aren’t that important, one is probably most significant but we do have a good chance to get there.”

Trump said, “There is no deal until there is a deal.”

The president also noted that U.S.-Russia relations were damaged in his first term because of the Russia hoax, despite “his fantastic relationship with President Putin.”

“We were harmed by Russia… Russia hoax… but he [Putin] knew it.” Trump said, “He’s seen everything.” He knew it was an hoax. I knew it too. It was a very criminal act. It made it difficult for us as a nation to do business and deal with things that we would have liked to.”

Trump thanked Putin, and said that they “probably” would be meeting again soon.

The Russian president replied: “Next time, in Moscow.”

Trump responded, “Oooh that’s a good one.” “I’m not sure, but I might get some heat for that one. It’s possible. “Thank you, Vladimir.”