Putin first to speak as Trump says ‘no deal yet’ in Alaska summit
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Trump and Putin's summit in Alaska sparks global speculation but ends with vague promises, no ceasefire, and a possible trip to Moscow.
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US President Donald Trump meets with Russia's President Vladimir Putin, on Friday, Aug. 15, 2025, at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska. At left is Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, and second from right is Secretary of State Marco Rubio (AP)
US President Donald Trump emerged from his high-stakes meeting with Vladimir Putin in Alaska, offering warm praise for the Russian leader but providing little in the way of concrete details, leaving more questions than answers in his wake
“I believe we had a very productive meeting,” Trump said. “There were many, many points that we agreed on … There’s no deal until there’s a deal. I will call up NATO … I’ll of course call up President Zelenskyy and tell him about today’s meeting … We really made some great progress.”
He added, “I’ve always had a fantastic relationship with President Putin, with Vladimir … We were interfered with by the ‘Russia, Russia, Russia’ hoax.”
Trump thanked Putin warmly, noting that the Russian leader had invited him to Moscow. As reporters shouted questions, the US president, usually unable to resist talking at length, walked off the stage without answering.
Trump says his advice to Zelensky is ‘make a deal’
In a follow-up interview with Fox News host Sean Hannity, Trump was asked what advice he would give to Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelensky. His answer was, “Make a deal” to end the war.
Trump also repeated a debunked claim, previously fact-checked by The Guardian, that the US had provided $350 billion in defense aid to Ukraine, while Europe had contributed only $100 billion.
Trump boasts of ‘special ability’ to end wars
Speaking from the same room where he had failed to secure a ceasefire, Trump told Hannity, “Wars are very bad, I seem to have an ability to end them.”
Hannity praised Trump for tamping down what he described as a series of “dormant” global conflicts in recent months. Neither man mentioned Trump’s repeated campaign-trail pledge to end the Ukraine war within 24 hours if re-elected.
‘Next time in Moscow’: Putin invites Trump to Russia
At the close of the brief remarks in Anchorage, Putin extended an invitation for Trump to continue talks in Moscow.
“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,” Trump said. “Thank you very much, Vladimir.”
“Next time in Moscow,” Putin replied with a chuckle.
“Oh, that’s an interesting one,” Trump answered. “I’ll get a little heat on that one, but I, uh, I could see it possibly happening.”
Putin highlights historic ties in Alaska with war graves tribute, church visit
While in Alaska, Vladimir Putin made several symbolic stops, according to Russia’s Foreign Ministry.
At the Fort Richardson Memorial Cemetery, he laid flowers at the graves of Soviet pilots and sailors who died during the Second World War.
☦️ President Vladimir #Putin spoke with Archbishop Alexei of Sitka and Alaska
— MFA Russia 🇷🇺 (@mfa_russia) August 16, 2025
The Russian Leader presented the Archbishop with an icon of St Herman of #Alaska, the Orthodox patron saint of America. pic.twitter.com/IdIiNltzB2
He also held a meeting with Archbishop Alexei of the Orthodox Church in America’s Diocese of Alaska, a gesture that appeared aimed at underscoring Alaska’s historic ties to Russia.
'Sickening. Shameful. And in the end, useless'
The Kyiv Independent has issued a scathing editorial on the Trump-Putin meeting, arguing that while Donald Trump left empty-handed, Vladimir Putin emerged triumphant.
The Ukrainian outlet drew a sharp contrast between Putin's reception and the cold treatment given to President Volodymyr Zelensky in Washington six months earlier.
“Ukraine’s president endured a public shaming. Russia’s was pampered. Both episodes were disgraceful,” the editorial declared.
It went on to warn that Trump fundamentally misunderstands Putin’s ambitions.
“Trump fails to grasp that Putin isn’t transactional about Ukraine, he is messianic. He wants Ukraine for Russia, period. For Putin and his inner circle, Ukraine’s independence is an accident, and they are correcting it.”
Glimpses from the summit and afterward:
- Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin met for three hours at a US military base in Alaska, formerly Russian territory, for private talks aimed at ending the war in Ukraine. Trump welcomed Putin with a red carpet and even applauded him, to the dismay of Ukrainian observers.
- The summit ended far earlier than scheduled, after just one round of discussions instead of two.
- Reporters expecting a joint press conference instead heard 12 minutes of remarks: Putin claimed progress, while Trump insisted there was “no deal” and ended the event without taking questions.
- A Fox News reporter described it as “really stunning” that Putin spoke first.
- In his post-summit interview, Trump rated the meeting “a 10” and said Putin had spoken “very sincerely” about wanting peace in Ukraine.
- US F-35 fighter jets escorted the Russian president Vladimir Putin's plane on its way from Alaska to Russia, the presidential press service said.
