Trump claims 'big progress on Russia' as US defends Putin meeting on Ukraine

Ukrainian President Zelenskyy set to meet US counterpart on Monday

Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump in Anchorage, Alaska, before talks on the war in Ukraine. Reuters

US President Donald Trump asked his followers on the Truth Social platform to "stay tuned" for updates on the prospect of a Russia-Ukraine ceasefire.

The advice came only two days after what many considered to be Mr Trump's anticlimactic meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Friday.

"Big progress on Russia," he posted on his social media platform.

Donald Trump gives his view of the Alaska summit on social media. Photo: Truth Social

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Sunday defended the US rolling out the red carpet for Russian President Vladimir Putin for the meeting in Alaska.

On ABC's Sunday political show, This Week, Mr Rubio was asked about analysts who said the Russian President got the upper hand on the world stage because he walked away without making concessions, at least publicly, regarding the Ukraine-Russian war, while being seen shaking hands with Mr Trump on a podium.

"Critics of President Trump are always going to find something to criticise him for," Mr Rubio said. He added that Mr Putin's three and a half year war with Ukraine has already given him the spotlight on the world stage, regardless of how the Alaska summit looked.

Donald Trump shakes hands with Vladimir Putin after their joint news conference in Alaska. AP

"He has the world's largest tactical nuclear arsenal and the second-largest strategic arsenal in the world ... all the media does is talk about Putin all the time, that doesn't mean he's right or justified about the war," he added.

"That's just common sense, I shouldn't have to explain it," he said. From Ukraine's perspective, security guarantees were paramount for any deal with Russia to come to fruition, he added.

"They want assurance that they won't be re-invaded in two or three years," and the White House was working to make those assurances for Kyiv possible, Mr Rubio said.

Also on Sunday, Trump administration special envoy Steve Witkoff dismissed the notion that little was achieved in Alaska during an appearance on CNN's State of the Union.

Mr Witkoff said that as the Trump administration had addressed all the issues necessary for a ceasefire to be achieved, "substantial progress" was made.

"The fundamental issue is some sort of land swap, which is ultimately in the control of the Ukrainians. That could not have been discussed at this meeting but we intend to discuss it on Monday," he said of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's trip to Washington for talks with Mr Trump.

Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump field questions from the press in Anchorage, Alaska. Bloomberg

Several media reports have suggested Mr Putin has promised to end the war and not attack any other European countries in exchange for a land swap deal, under which Ukraine would cede the Donbas region to Russia. The Russian President is reported to have privately made clear his desire for control of five key Ukrainian regions.

Mr Witkoff said he "didn't have the time to go through all the different issues about five regions", but all those in question "have always been the crux of the deal".

He also insisted Russia had made some concessions during Friday's meeting but declined to elaborate.

Mr Witkoff said Mr Zelenskyy had been briefed by Mr Trump after the Alaska summit. "The President got right on the phone with him and he deserved that," he said.

Despite his failure to come away with a ceasefire, Mr Trump said there had been “some great progress” on ending the war in Ukraine, without offering details.

In a subsequent interview with Fox News, he raised the possibility of another summit involving Mr Zelenskyy and suggested the next move towards peace must come from Kyiv.

“Now, it's really up to President Zelenskyy to get it done and I would also say the European nations, they have to get involved a little bit, but it's up to President Zelenskyy,” he said. "And if they'd like, I'll be at that next meeting."