By WASHINGTON/MOSCOW, Aug 16 (AfrikTimes) – A highly anticipated summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin concluded without any agreement to resolve or pause Moscow’s war in Ukraine, although both leaders described the talks as productive before returning home.
During a brief appearance before the media following Friday’s nearly three-hour meeting in Alaska, Trump and Putin said they had made progress on unspecified issues, but offered no details and declined to take questions. The normally loquacious Trump ignored shouted questions from reporters.
“We’ve made some headway,” Trump said, standing in front of a backdrop that read, “Pursuing Peace.”
“There’s no deal until there’s a deal,” he added.
The talks did not initially appear to have produced meaningful steps toward a ceasefire in the war in Ukraine, Europe’s deadliest conflict in 80 years, a goal Trump had set ahead of the summit. However, simply sitting down face-to-face with the U.S. president represented a diplomatic victory for Putin, who has been largely ostracized by Western leaders since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
President Donald Trump greets Russia’s President Vladimir Putin Friday, August 15, 2025, at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska.
Following the summit, Trump told Fox News’ Sean Hannity that he would hold off on imposing tariffs on China for buying Russian oil after making progress with Putin. He did not mention India, another major buyer of Russian crude, which is subject to a total 50% tariff on U.S. imports, including a 25% penalty for imports from Russia.
“Because of what happened today, I think I don’t have to think about that now,” Trump said regarding Chinese tariffs. “I may have to think about it in two weeks or three weeks or something, but we don’t have to think about that right now.”
Trump has threatened sanctions on Moscow but has not followed through, even after Putin ignored a Trump-imposed ceasefire deadline earlier this month. In the Fox News interview, Trump also suggested a meeting could now be arranged between Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, which he might attend, though he provided no further details on who would organize it or when it might take place.
Putin made no mention of meeting Zelenskiy during his remarks to reporters. He said he expected Ukraine and its European allies to accept the results of the U.S.-Russia negotiation constructively and not attempt to “disrupt the emerging progress.” He also reiterated Moscow’s long-held position that what Russia claims are the “root causes” of the conflict must be eliminated to reach a long-term peace, signaling continued resistance to a ceasefire.
There was no immediate reaction from Kyiv to the summit, the first meeting between Putin and a U.S. president since the war began.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, accompanied by U.S. President Donald Trump (R), speaks during a press conference at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson on August 15, 2025 in Anchorage, Alaska.
‘GOTTA MAKE A DEAL’
Trump indicated he had discussed potential land swaps and security guarantees for Ukraine with Putin, telling Hannity: “I think those are points that we negotiated, and those are points that we largely have agreed on.”
“I think we’re pretty close to a deal,” he said, adding: “Ukraine has to agree to it. Maybe they’ll say no.”
When asked what advice he would give Zelenskiy, Trump said, “Gotta make a deal.”
“Look, Russia is a very big power, and they’re not,” he added.
The war has killed or injured well over a million people from both sides, including thousands of mostly Ukrainian civilians, according to analysts. Zelenskiy has ruled out formally handing Moscow any territory and is also seeking a security guarantee backed by the United States. Trump said he would call Zelenskiy and NATO leaders to update them on the Alaska talks. Trump was due to arrive back in Washington early Saturday morning.
As the two leaders met, fighting continued, with most eastern Ukrainian regions under air raid alerts. Governors of Russia’s Rostov and Bryansk regions reported that parts of their territories were under Ukrainian drone attacks. Russia’s air defense systems intercepted and destroyed 29 Ukrainian drones overnight over various Russian regions, including 10 downed over Rostov, according to RIA agency, citing the Russian defense ministry.
Ukraine’s Air Force reported that frontline territories in the Sumy, Donetsk, Chernihiv, and Dnipropetrovsk regions were targeted in overnight strikes by Russia. Ukrainian air defense units destroyed 61 of the 85 drones launched, it said.
The anticlimactic end to the summit stood in stark contrast to its pomp and ceremony at the start. When Putin arrived at an Air Force base in Alaska, a red carpet awaited him. Trump greeted the Russian president warmly as U.S. military aircraft flew overhead.
Putin, wanted by the International Criminal Court for the war crime of deporting hundreds of Ukrainian children, has denied the allegations. Russia and the U.S. are not ICC members. The Kremlin dismissed the ICC warrant as null and void.
Putin and Trump met alongside delegates from both countries in a meeting that lasted about three hours. It is immediately unknown on which points the countries made agreements, as Trump said, and which need further discussion.
‘NEXT TIME IN MOSCOW’
Zelenskiy, who was not invited to Alaska, and his European allies had feared Trump might freeze the conflict and implicitly recognize Russian control over one-fifth of Ukraine. Trump sought to address such concerns ahead of the talks, saying Ukraine would decide on any possible territorial concessions. Asked what would constitute a successful meeting, he said:
“I want to see a ceasefire rapidly … I’m not going to be happy if it’s not today … I want the killing to stop.”
The meeting also included U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Trump’s special envoy to Russia Steve Witkoff, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, and Russian foreign policy aide Yury Ushakov.
Trump, who during his campaign promised to end the Ukraine war within 24 hours, conceded on Thursday that the task had proven far more difficult. He said if Friday’s talks went well, arranging a second three-way summit with Zelenskiy would be more important than his encounter with Putin.
Trump concluded by telling Putin, “I’d like to thank you very much, and we’ll speak to you very soon and probably see you again very soon.”
“Next time in Moscow,” Putin replied, smiling in English. Trump said he might “get a little heat on that one” but that he could “possibly see it happening.”
Zelenskiy emphasized before the summit that the meeting should open the way for a “just peace” and three-way talks that included him, noting that Russia continued to wage war.
“It’s time to end the war, and the necessary steps must be taken by Russia. We are counting on America,” he wrote on Telegram.
In this handout photograph taken and released by the Ukrainian Presidential Press Service on April 26, 2025, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky (R) meets with US President Donald Trump (L) on the sidelines of Pope Francis’s funeral at St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican. (Handout / UKRAINIAN PRESIDENTIAL PRESS SERVICE / AFP)
Additional reporting by Reuters’ Trevor Hunnicutt, Jeff Mason, and Lidia Kelly.
