Alaska/Moscow/Kyiv, August 16, 2025: United States President Donald Trump failed to secure a ceasefire in Ukraine after high-stakes talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday but announced plans for a broader summit including Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to pursue a full peace deal.
The three-hour meeting at a Cold War-era US air base in Alaska ended without agreement, though Trump declared it “extremely productive.” Emerging with Putin, he said: “We’re not there yet, but we’ve made progress. There’s no deal until there’s a deal.”
Trump later wrote on Truth Social that European leaders supported his call for a three-way summit with Putin and Zelensky. “It was determined by all that the best way to end this horrific war is a full peace agreement, not a temporary ceasefire,” he posted. Zelensky is due in Washington on Monday for talks at the White House.
After the Alaska meeting, Trump briefed Zelensky by phone before conferring with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
In a joint statement, European leaders expressed support for Trump’s proposed trilateral summit, while vowing to intensify sanctions. “As long as the killing in Ukraine continues, we will uphold and strengthen pressure on Russia’s war economy until there is a just and lasting peace,” they said.
Starmer hailed Trump’s diplomacy as bringing the world “closer than ever before” to ending the war. Macron, however, warned against Russia’s “well-documented tendency to break commitments” and insisted that any peace must include “unbreakable security guarantees.”
A diplomatic source told AFP that Trump had offered Kyiv guarantees similar to NATO protection, but short of membership.
Putin, smiling beside Trump at a joint briefing, said he hoped their “understanding” would lead to peace, and invited Trump to Moscow for further talks. He also remarked that the war “would not have happened if Trump were president instead of Joe Biden.”
While the summit played out, fighting continued. Ukraine reported 85 Russian drone attacks and a ballistic missile strike overnight. Russia, meanwhile, claimed the capture of two more villages — Kolodyazi in Donetsk and Vorone in Dnipropetrovsk — strengthening its hand at the negotiating table.
Trump, who in February had berated Zelensky during a White House meeting, struck a more conciliatory tone on Saturday, saying: “Now it’s really up to President Zelensky to get it done.” Zelensky, for his part, voiced cautious support: “It is important that America’s strength has an impact on the situation. We are counting on America.”
Putin, however, warned Ukraine and its allies not to obstruct what he called “emerging progress.”
The Alaska summit was heavy with symbolism. Trump personally escorted Putin into the US presidential limousine, “The Beast,” before talks in a room branded with the slogan “Pursuing Peace.” A B-2 stealth bomber flew overhead as the two leaders arrived, underscoring US military might.
The meeting marked Putin’s first in-person encounter with a US president since 2019, despite an International Criminal Court warrant against him over war crimes in Ukraine.
Trump confirmed he will meet Zelensky in Washington on Monday and, if progress is made, pursue a follow-up summit with Putin. “Potentially, millions of lives will be saved,” he said.
