Haq Discusses the Trump-Putin Meeting in MSNBC Article

August 21, 2025

MSNBC

Nayyera Haq

Maxwell in Washington, D.C.

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Nayyera Haq

“It’s not clear if Trump got anything from Putin—or even what he wanted,” written by Assistant Dean for Maxwell-in-Washington Nayyera Haq, was published by MSNBC. Following is an excerpt:

It’s even less apparent now what Trump wanted and expected. But after Trump and Putin met for more than two hours Friday, and then praised each other to the media for about 12 minutes, it was clear that Trump, in his rush to meet with Putin, not only risked whatever was left of his image as a dealmaker-in-chief, but he also may have damaged the United States’ image as a global champion for democracy.

Did the meeting bring us any closer to a peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine? Trump said the two countries “haven’t quite gotten there” but “made some headway” and then landed on the tried-and-true holding statement that “there’s no deal until there’s a deal.”

He said, “I will call up NATO in a little while. I will call up the various people that I think are appropriate. And I’ll, of course, call up President Zelenskyy and tell him about today’s meeting. It’s ultimately up to them.”

Early on Saturday, a few more details were released. Trump said he and Putin had decided not to try for a ceasefire at all, "which often times do not hold up," but instead work directly on a peace agreement. Zelenskyy confirmed he would visit Trump in Washington to discuss that possibility on Monday. But the end result of Friday's meeting remains unchanged.