Handshakes between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin before a press conference at Elmendorf-Richardson military base in Anchorage, Alaska, on Aug. 15, 2025. (Credit: Sputnik/Gavriil Grigorov/Pool via Reuters)
Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin parted ways on Friday in Alaska without disclosing any potential peace plan for Ukraine, despite exchanging numerous conciliatory statements and friendly gestures.
The U.S. president described the meeting as “very productive,” while Vladimir Putin called it a “constructive” discussion. In reality, nothing immediately emerged from their three-hour conversation at a military base in Alaska. The American president, who often presents himself as a decisive negotiator, said during joint press remarks that only “very few” points remained to be resolved to end the war triggered over three years ago by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
“One of these points is probably the most important,” Trump added, without specifying which. “We’re not there yet, but progress has been made. There is no deal until there is a deal,” the U.S. president warned before departing for Washington.
In total, Trump and Putin spent six hours in Alaska. The 79-year-old billionaire had aimed to quickly organize a trilateral summit with the Russian and Ukrainian leaders and secure a cease-fire. However, he did not raise any of these points publicly alongside Putin.
In a Fox News interview recorded shortly after the press remarks, Trump suggested that a peace agreement “really depends on the Ukrainian president.”
With Putin, Trump no longer displayed the somewhat brash tone he had shown prior to the meeting, when he had threatened to walk out in case of a deadlock or insisted that Putin would not “act up” in his presence. Trump, who had previously warned Russia of “very serious consequences” if it failed to end the war, said he was not considering any immediate measures. “Given how things went today, I don’t think I need to think about that now,” he told Fox News.
In a similarly cordial tone, Putin expressed hope that the “understanding” reached in Alaska would bring “peace” to Ukraine.
The two leaders, speaking in front of a blue backdrop reading ‘Pursuing Peace,’ had promised a press conference. Instead, they merely shook hands after their speeches and left without taking questions from journalists.
Applause and symbolism
Ukraine and European leaders feared that the summit might allow Putin to manipulate his American counterpart, who had previously hinted at possible territorial concessions.
Trump said he would subsequently call NATO leaders and Volodymyr Zelensky, stating about the Ukrainians: “Ultimately, it depends on them.” He also suggested that he could meet the Russian president “very soon,” to which Putin responded lightly in English, “Next time in Moscow.” “I imagine that could happen,” Trump replied, amused.
The warm tone of the summit marks a spectacular return of Putin to the international stage, even as Europe’s deadliest conflict since World War II continues.
Trump briefly applauded as the Russian president approached him on the tarmac. Handshakes and smiles followed in a display highlighting American military power, with advanced fighter jets parked along the red carpet and flying overhead. Putin then entered Trump’s armored vehicle, where they held a brief one-on-one discussion before meeting with a few advisors.
‘The Russians continue to kill’
The primary party affected but largely absent from this meeting, Volodymyr Zelensky, had expressed his reliance on Trump to end the conflict. Russian soldiers “continue to kill on the day of negotiations,” he lamented, while the Ukrainian military announced on Friday that it had recaptured six villages recently seized by Russian units during a rapid advance.
The Ukrainian president and European leaders are now awaiting updates from the unpredictable American president regarding the content of his meeting.
According to Axios journalist Barrack Ravid, the U.S. president told Zelensky and NATO leaders that “Vladimir Putin did not want a cease-fire and preferred a comprehensive agreement to end the war.” Citing a source present during the call, he indicated that Trump believes a “quick peace deal is better than a cease-fire.”
Russia demands that Ukraine cede four partially occupied regions (Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson), in addition to Crimea, annexed in 2014, and that it abandon Western arms deliveries and any NATO aspirations. This is unacceptable to Kyiv, which insists on an unconditional and immediate cease-fire, along with future security guarantees.
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