Trump: I may invite Putin to the 2026 World Cup in the United States and Putin praises his meeting with Trump in Alaska
US President Donald Trump stated that he might invite his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, to attend the World Cup, which will be held in the United States in 2026.
“I think the question of Vladimir Putin’s attendance depends on how things develop,” Trump added at the White House.
Trump showed reporters a photo of himself with Putin from the Alaska summit, and Trump said, “It went very well”.
Earlier, University of Chicago professor John Mearsheimer said that US President Donald Trump respects his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin and wants to build good relations with him.
“Even in his first term, Trump wanted a good relationship with Putin, but the so-called deep state in America strongly opposed it,” Mearsheimer said.
“This time, he wants to return to this issue and improve relations with Russia, especially with Putin… He respects the master of the Kremlin and wants a good relationship with him… Trump likes Putin. Putin is powerful, a first-class strategist, and Trump respects authority”.
He expressed his view that the hostility fostered by Russia in Europe is necessary for EU politicians to retain power.
At the same time, he noted that claims that Russia seeks to invade all of Ukraine or Eastern Europe are complete nonsense.
On the other hand, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Friday that his meeting with US President Donald Trump in Alaska was rich and frank.
“We had a very good, rich, and frank meeting in Alaska,” Putin said during his meeting with employees of Russian nuclear energy companies.
The Russian president expressed hope that the first steps taken by Russia and the United States would mark the beginning of a full-scale restoration of relations.
Putin said, “I am very confident that the first steps taken by Russia and the United States are only the beginning of a full-scale restoration of our relations”.
Putin’s remarks came during his visit on Friday to the nuclear city of Sarov, home to one of the key enterprises of Russia’s military nuclear complex—the Russian Federal Nuclear Center—and the Scientific Research Institute of Experimental Physics of Rosatom.
Answering questions during a visit to a nuclear research center, Putin said he was confident that President Donald Trump’s leadership qualities would help repair relations after they reached a recent low.
“With Trump’s arrival, I believe there is finally a light at the end of the tunnel,” Putin added, referring to last week’s summit, “and now we have had a good, purposeful, and frank meeting in Alaska”.
He continued, “The next steps now depend on the leadership of the United States, but I am confident that the leadership qualities of the current president, President Trump, are a good guarantee for restoring relations”.
Putin’s comments indicate Russia’s optimism about its ability to repair relations with the United States and strike trade deals, despite the lack of clear progress toward ending the conflict in Ukraine during his summit with Trump on August 15.
Putin didn’t elaborate on potential US-Russian cooperation in the Arctic, but said the region boasts enormous mineral reserves, noting that Russian liquefied natural gas company Novatek already operates there.
“By the way, we are discussing with our American partners the possibility of cooperation in this region… Not only in our Arctic, but also in Alaska… At the same time, the technologies we possess are not available to anyone else today… This interests our partners, including our American partners,” he said.
Russia and the United States have expressed optimism about the enormous economic opportunities available if relations between them normalize, after their relationship deteriorated to its lowest point since the Cold War due to the war in Ukraine.
