A body language expert has offered insights into why Vladimir Putin made a rare four-word comment to President Donald Trump in English during their meeting in Alaska.
Both leaders arrived in Anchorage, Alaska, on Friday, August 15, to discuss a peace agreement amid the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine.
After nearly three hours of discussions, Putin and Trump appeared before the press for a brief 12-minute conference, choosing not to entertain questions from journalists.
Although there were speculations about a potential peace deal emerging from the meeting, Trump remarked, “We didn’t get there, but we have a very good chance of getting there.”
He continued, “I’m going to start making a few phone calls and tell them what happened. But we had an extremely productive meeting, and many points were agreed to, and there are just a very few that are left.”
“Some are not that significant. One is probably the most significant.”
As the meeting concluded, Trump expressed gratitude to Putin for attending the Alaska talks, saying, “We had some good meetings over the years, right? Good, productive meetings over the years, and we hope to have that in the future. Let’s do the most productive one right now.”
“We’re going to stop, really, five, six, seven thousand, thousands of people a week from being killed, and President Putin wants to see that as much as I do. So again, Mr. President, I’d like to thank you very much, and we’ll speak to you very soon, and probably see you again very soon. Thank you very much, Vladimir.”
Putin then replied in English with a concise comment: “Next time in Moscow.”
The invitation appeared to surprise Trump, who responded, “That’s an interesting one, I’ll get a little heat on that one.”
“But I could see it possibly happening.”
It is noteworthy that no US president has visited Russia since Barack Obama’s attendance at the G20 Summit in 2013.
A body language expert has now suggested that Putin’s choice to speak in English was deliberate.
Darren Stanton commented, “Trump was on the back foot with that comment, I think Putin wanted to get the last laugh in, another power move.”
Stanton also speculated that the decision for Trump and Putin not to take questions was to avoid revealing too much.
He pointed out some of the “subtle” power dynamics during the meeting, such as a flyover arranged as the Russian president arrived.
As the two leaders strolled along the tarmac at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, four F-35s and a B-2 Spirit bomber were observed flying overhead.
“I think with the fighter jets, a lot of people have criticized Trump for giving him a hero’s welcome with the red carpet and the military fly by but it’s more or less saying ‘I’ve got weapons as well, I’ve got the equipment as well,'” Stanton explained.
Despite not securing a peace agreement, Trump remained confident that “great progress” had been made.