The Trump-Putin summit ended abruptly, lasting only a few hours. Even the scheduled luncheon was canceled, and Putin immediately returned to Russia on a special plane.
This was their first meeting in six years. Trump appeared to take advantage of his home turf, employing a mix of soft and hard tactics against Putin during the talks.
Notably, the originally planned one-on-one meeting was ultimately adjusted to involve three people from each country: Secretary of State Rubio and Special Presidential Envoy Witkov, while the Russians included Foreign Minister Lavrov and Presidential Assistant Ushakov.
The Trump-Putin meeting concluded more quickly than expected. After nearly three hours of negotiations and a brief press conference, Putin departed for home, and Trump immediately returned to Washington. The luncheon for both delegations was canceled.
While neither side provided a specific explanation for the cancellation of the luncheon, Trump and Putin's statements suggest that both sides likely wanted to implement the outcomes of the talks as quickly as possible. Another possible consideration is security—after all, Trump himself has been attacked before, so Putin naturally needs to be extra cautious in a foreign country.
The key is that no matter what consensus Trump and Putin reach during the talks, if Ukraine doesn't recognize it, further progress will be difficult.
In fact, the shift from a one-on-one to a three-on-three format likely stems from the EU and Ukraine's push. They fear Putin might successfully "persuade" Trump in private discussions, and therefore need the presence of a "Russia hawk" like Rubio to provide a check.
Putin is well aware that in order to gain benefits from dealing with Trump, known for his "art of the deal," he must provide sufficient "bargaining chips." Aluminum and rare earth resources alone are insufficient; Russia needs to offer more substantial benefits. This requires Putin to personally prepare for the next Trump-Putin summit, expected to be held in Moscow.