Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump
The high-stakes meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump took place in Anchorage, Alaska, with the Ukrainian crisis dominating negotiations. Both leaders offered positive assessments of the summit's results, with Trump describing great progress and agreement on numerous points, though no comprehensive Ukraine deal has yet been reached.
The U.S. president is expected to brief Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky and European allies on the discussions in the near future. A potential trilateral meeting involving Trump, Putin and Zelensky has also been announced.
How the meeting went
A red carpet, applause, and firm handshakes - this is how the meeting between Putin and Trump began in Anchorage.
The two leaders stepped out of their planes almost simultaneously. Trump welcomed Putin with applause, then they shook hands firmly and walked along the red carpet rolled out on the tarmac.
“When they shook hands, it seemed like old friends meeting after a long time apart,” the Italian newspaper La Repubblica observed.
The White House published several photos of the presidents' meeting. The images were captioned “Historic” and “Pursuing Peace”.
The two leaders exchanged brief remarks, posed for photographs, and then entered Trump's vehicle together - marking the start of their face-to-face discussions en route to the negotiation site. Western media noted that Putin typically uses his own transport during foreign visits, making this joint car ride a notable exception. “The fact they are both sitting in the same car sends an unusual signal and demonstrates uncommon trust,” NTV German television correspondent Christoph Witte noted.
Upon arrival at the negotiation venue, both presidents were joined by their delegations. The Russian side included Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Presidential Aide Yury Ushakov, while the U.S. delegation comprised Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Special Presidential Envoy Steve Witkoff. Official talks commenced in a restricted “three-on-three” format.
Neither leader made public statements before the summit, though Trump spoke with reporters aboard Air Force One, emphasizing his desire to lay groundwork for a Ukrainian peace agreement while noting final terms must be negotiated between Moscow and Kiev. “It is not for me to negotiate Ukraine's deal, but I think I’ve got a pretty good idea what they’d like to see,” Trump told Fox News.
In an interview with Fox News, President Trump also revealed details of his phone conversation with Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko. “He is friends with President Putin, as you know, very, very close neighbors, and they work together. He thinks that President Putin wants to make a deal,” Trump said, noting that Lukashenko was “very positive” about the Russia-U.S. summit in Alaska.
Summit results
The negotiations between Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump lasted approximately three hours, marking their longest meeting to date, TASS reports. Following the “three-on-three” format talks, both leaders made statements to the press.
From their opening remarks, it became clear both leaders assessed the summit positively.
“Our talks were held in a respectful and constructive atmosphere. They were quite substantive and useful,” the Russian president said.
“Today we really made great progress. I’ve always had fantastic relationships with President Putin,” the American leader emphasized.
Typically, when the U.S. president hosts foreign leaders, joint press conferences begin with the American president's remarks followed by his guest. However, in Anchorage, the leaders departed from this tradition, with Putin opening the press conference.
The Russian leader thanked Trump for proposing to meet in Alaska. “It's quite logical to meet here, as our countries, though separated by oceans, are close neighbors,” the Russian leader said. He observed that over recent years, without direct leader-to-leader contact, U.S.-Russia relations had deteriorated to their lowest point since the Cold War. Putin suggested the time had come to move away from confrontation.
“Our countries need to turn the page and return to cooperation. It's symbolic that nearby, at the border between Russia and the USA, runs the so-called International Date Line, where one can literally step ‘from yesterday into tomorrow”. I hope we can achieve this in the political sphere as well,” TASS cited Vladimir Putin as saying.
Several statements regarding Ukraine were made during the press conference. “As you well know, one of the central issues was the situation around Ukraine,” the Russian leader said. “We see the desire of the U.S. administration and President Trump personally to facilitate resolution of the Ukrainian conflict, his willingness to understand its essence and roots.”
Putin emphasized Russia's sincere interest in ending the Ukrainian crisis, calling Ukrainians a “kin people” and describing the conflict as a “tragedy and deep pain”. “Therefore, our country genuinely wants to see this end,” Putin stated.
While expressing Russia's readiness to help ensure Ukraine's security, Putin stressed that any lasting settlement must address the conflict's root causes, consider Russia's legitimate concerns, and restore a fair security balance in Europe and globally.
The Russian president expressed hope that agreements reached with Trump would serve as a foundation for resolving the Ukrainian issue and rebuilding Moscow-Washington relations. “What matters most is that both sides were results-oriented,” Putin stressed. “We see that the U.S. president has a clear vision of what he wants to achieve, genuinely cares about his country's prosperity, and simultaneously understands Russia has its own national interests.”
Moscow also expressed hope that Kiev and Brussels would not obstruct the emerging progress in resolving the Ukrainian crisis.
Following Putin's remarks, Trump took the floor. “We had an extremely productive meeting and there were many points we have agreed on,” the U.S. president said. According to him, only a few issues remain unresolved, with good chances of reaching agreement, though he did not specify which particular matters were under discussion.
Trump clarified that the agreements reached on Ukraine do not yet constitute a final deal, as consent from all parties is still required. “I would say, there is a couple of big ones that we haven’t quite got there, but we’ve made some headway. So there's no deal until there’s a deal,” Trump said.
The U.S. president also announced upcoming phone calls with Zelensky and NATO allies. "I will call up NATO in a little while, I will call up various people that I think are appropriate. And of course, I'll call up President Zelensky and tell him about today's meeting. Ultimately, it's all up to them,” CNN cited Trump as saying.
Trump expressed hope for another meeting with Putin soon, noting that the U.S. and Russia have a real opportunity to work together.
Both leaders limited themselves to statements and did not take questions from journalists. After the talks concluded, the Russian president laid flowers at the graves of Soviet pilots in Alaska before departing for Russia.
Before departing for Washington, Donald Trump spoke again with Fox News reporters, revealing that the negotiations had largely aligned on providing security guarantees for Ukraine. The U.S. president also advised Vladimir Zelensky to pursue a peace agreement with Russia to resolve the conflict.
Trump expressed confidence that peace could be achieved relatively quickly, stating that Washington and Moscow were close to finalizing a deal on Ukraine. The U.S. leader also announced plans for another meeting, this time in a trilateral format. “Our next meeting will include President Zelensky, President Putin, and possibly myself,” Trump said.
When asked to evaluate the summit, Trump gave it the highest possible rating. “On a scale of 1 to 10, I’d give today a 10,” Trump told Fox News, as journalist Nick Sortor later posted on X (formerly Twitter).
What’s next?
Overall, the statements from U.S. and Russian leaders suggest mutual understanding has been reached on several key issues. However, much depends on the stance of Kiev and European leaders, who have so far shown little willingness to negotiate or move toward a peaceful settlement that accounts for all parties' interests.
Without sustained U.S. military and financial support, Kiev and its allies would likely struggle to maintain their combative stance. Should Moscow and Washington have genuinely aligned their positions during today's summit, this could significantly advance prospects for conflict resolution.
Trump's expressed hope for another meeting with Putin signals both leaders' commitment to continued dialogue. The Kremlin similarly anticipates further engagement. “The conversation was indeed very positive, as both presidents noted. This is precisely the kind of dialogue that enables confident joint progress toward settlement options,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told RIA Novosti.
Russian Ambassador to the USA Alexander Darchiev revealed plans for fresh consultations between Moscow and Washington. “We will soon hold another round of normalization talks, what we call discussions about irritants in bilateral relations,” the diplomat told Izvestia newspaper.
Alexander Darchiev expressed hope that the recent summit would give momentum to bilateral relations. “I hope the presidents will provide, in fact, they already have provided, the impetus to pursue normalization,” the ambassador stated.
Meanwhile, Anton Sviridenko, Executive Director of the Stolypin Institute for Economic Growth, stated in comments to TASS that strategic issues cannot be resolved in a single meeting. “The direct contact helped clarify positions on the main issue, conflict resolution, as Moscow's primary emphasis on long-term settlement is clear,” the expert noted.
According to him, the U.S. position also demonstrates a commitment to long-term settlement. “However, it is not certain that other interested parties are immediately ready for this approach. Moreover, aspects of military balance are intertwined with strategic issues - deterrence weapons, geopolitical positions - which cannot be resolved in one sitting and haven't been thoroughly discussed in a long time,” he said.
“Therefore, a positive outcome of the negotiations would be their continuation in an expanded format, where we could discuss economic projects such as the Arctic, rare earth metals, cooperation in resources and technology. The USA could find much of interest in Russia, even regarding military balance from a strategic perspective,” Anton Sviridenko stressed.
Vita Khanatayeva,
BelTA
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