Trump, Putin discuss Ukraine, potential for greater US-Russian economic ties - National & International News - FRI 15Aug2025 -

Presidents Trump and Putin met for nearly 3 hours today, but no announcements on ceasefire in Ukraine.

Trump, Putin meet in Alaska to discuss Ukraine, hold press conference

President Donald Trump met Russian President Vladimir Putin with a handshake on the tarmac at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage. The hastily arranged summit featured a modest amount of ceremony. A B-2 stealth bomber flew overhead as they stood on a plinth with “ALASKA 2025” in large letters, surrounded by F-22 fighter jets. Clear branding was also on show, with the slogan of the summit “Pursuing Peace” visible on a backdrop behind the two men as they sat for press photos. Unusually, neither Trump nor Putin took questions before the photographers and reporters were ushered out by aides, still shouting questions.

The White House has sent mixed messages on what they hoped the meeting would accomplish. At times, Trump appeared confident this would be a first step towards a long-term (perhaps not permanent) peace in Ukraine. At other times, the White House tried to temper expectations. On several occasions, and as recently as today, Trump implied that Putin was ready to discuss peace, but that it would likely mean Ukraine having to agree to “land swaps”. However, Trump said he would not negotiate territorial matters on Ukraine’s behalf today.

The summit may also cover other subjects, such as a potential deal to use Russian nuclear-powered icebreaker ships to facilitate oil and gas projects in Alaska. Kremlin officials have expressed hope that the summit could lead to greater economic cooperation between the US and Russia. Putin also hopes to discuss a new US-Russia nuclear arms treaty.

Trump has said that if today’s meeting with Putin was successful, he would like to quickly arrange a tri-lateral summit between himself, Putin, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Trump will appear on Fox News with Sean Hannity at 8 PM Central Time tonight to speak about his impressions from today’s meeting.

Putin and Trump hold a press conference

Following a meeting that lasted nearly three hours, Presidents Trump and Putin held a brief press conference (linked timestamped to beginning of the conference).

Putin spoke about the role of US-Russian cooperation in the defeat of the Nazis during World War II and expressed hope that the two countries could rekindle that cooperation to their mutual benefit. Some arenas for cooperation mentioned by Putin included our space programs as well as Arctic energy projects.

Following Putin’s lengthy remarks, Trump followed up relatively briefly to say they had had a “very productive meeting”. He said they had found many points of agreement and had made “some headway” on others. He did not elaborate but said “there’s no deal until there’s a deal”. Trump also said he would be calling up NATO leaders and President Zelensky to brief them on the meeting. He said it would be “up to them to agree with” before trailing off to acknowledge the efforts of members of his administration who were present.