Czech minister slams Putin’s ‘nonsense’ Ukraine remarks in Trump briefing

Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavský lambasted Russian leader Vladimir Putin after the Alaska summit with U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday, accusing him of talking garbage about the war with Ukraine.

“From Putin, we heard the same propagandistic nonsense about the ‘roots of the conflict’ that his state television promotes,” Lipavský wrote on X following statements from the two presidents. “The problem is Russian imperialism, not Ukraine’s desire to live freely.”

Putin and Trump made brief statements to the media following a nearly three-hours-long meeting focused on Ukraine with top aides in Anchorage, Alaska. The 12-minute segment in front of dozens of journalists did not reveal any concrete details on what the leaders and officials had discussed — only that there was no deal to report. 

Putin, who addressed reporters first, pontificated about how Ukraine poses “fundamental threats” to Russian security, and discussed the need to “eliminate all the primary causes of the conflict.” 

The Kremlin has long pointed to a list of “root causes” of the war, including preventing Ukraine’s NATO membership and false claims that Nazis are running the Ukrainian government.

Trump, in his remarks, said the talks were “extremely productive,” though he admitted “we didn’t get there” on a Ukraine deal with his Russian counterpart.

Lipavský withheld criticism from the U.S. president, whom he praised for his attempts to halt the conflict and his efforts to “continuously” discuss the process with European leaders.

“I welcome that President Trump is trying to stop the war,” the Czech minister wrote, adding that he expects Trump to “inform us in Europe about the outcomes of today’s negotiations, including President Zelenskyy.”

Meanwhile, Russia continued its attacks on Ukraine in the hours leading up to the Alaska talks, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

“If Putin were serious about negotiating peace, he would not have been attacking Ukraine all day today,” Lipavský said.