Last week's meeting between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin in Alaska may well go down in history in regards to the war in Ukraine, even though nobody seems to know what was said.
Despite the US president suggesting previously that he wouldn't be happy with anything other than a ceasefire agreement, the 79-year-old seemed in high spirits in his press conference as he suggested that they now have a 'very good chance' of getting there.
He will now meet with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy this afternoon for further talks, although his message on Truth Social seems to suggest that he is confident that the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine is almost over.
He wrote: "A great and very successful day in Alaska! The meeting with President Vladimir Putin of Russia went very well, as did a late night phone call with President Zelenskyy of Ukraine, and various European Leaders, including the highly respected Secretary General of NATO.
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"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 Agreement, which often times do not hold up.
"President Zelenskyy will be coming to D.C., the Oval Office, on Monday afternoon. If all works out, we will then schedule a meeting with President Putin. Potentially, millions of people’s lives will be saved."
While we know very little about what actually happened during two world leaders' three-hour meeting, other than their lunch apparently being cancelled, it seems as if one thing in particular left Trump's team feeling shocked and 'ashen-faced', with some experts suggesting it was likely down to a comment from Putin's side.
Describing the mood of Trump's aides such as Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt and Special Envoy Steve Witkoff after the meeting, NBC News Chief White House Correspondent Peter Alexander said their 'eyes were wide' and 'ashen'.
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"What struck me was the looks on the faces of a lot of the American delegation," he said, per the Daily Mail.
'Leavitt 'appeared to be stressed out and anxious', while Witkoff 'came into the room, then left quickly, then came back in'.
"Those were some of the sort of images that will stick with me as we leave here," Alexander added.
Plenty of theories have emerged since the controversial meeting, including suggestions that Putin wasn't even in attendance, while others suggested reasons as to why Trump was walking in zig zags just ahead of the meeting, but most members of the press were forced to speculate after neither leader took any questions during an extremely brief press conference.
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Antonia Hylton, MSNBC host, added: "A lot of the press corps that was there, they reported in the minutes and hours after the presser that they saw members of the administration, like Karoline Leavitt, look ashen, almost frightened after what they had seen behind closed doors."
Topics: Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin, Russia, Ukraine, Politics
James Moorhouse