Alaska, Aug. 16, 2025 – President Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin both said that significant progress was made toward an agreement for a potential ceasefire in the war in Ukraine, but that a final deal had not yet been reached during their high-stakes summit in Anchorage, Alaska, on Friday.
Trump said the talks were “extremely productive” but added that “there’s no deal until there’s a deal” during a joint press conference following nearly three hours of closed-door conversations between the two leaders. Details on what was agreed to and what issues have yet to be resolved were not shared.
Trump and Putin met at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, where they shook hands and posed for photographs on the tarmac before beginning their sit-down away from the press.
It was the first face-to-face meeting between Trump and Putin since 2019, and Putin’s first with a U.S. president since his forces invaded Ukraine in 2022. The Russian leader had spoken on the phone with Trump since his reelection, but they had not yet met in person during the president’s second term.
Trump has been trying for months to secure a deal to end the war, but Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was not invited to Friday’s summit, and expectations that a ceasefire agreement can be reached are low.
“This is really a feel-out meeting,” Trump told reporters earlier this week. “Probably in the first two minutes I’ll know exactly whether or not a deal can be made.” The president also promised “very severe consequences” if Putin doesn’t agree to end the three-and-a-half-year conflict, which has caused a staggering number of casualties on both sides.
There were fresh attacks in the war overnight. Russia launched dozens of drone strikes across Ukraine, killing seven civilians and injuring 17 others, Ukrainian military officials said.
Putin boards his plane for return trip to Russia
Russian President Vladimir Putin was seen heading into his plane less than an hour after his joint press conference with President Trump. As he entered the door, he turned around to give a wave and subtle bow.
Putin and his delegation had been scheduled to meet with Trump and other U.S. officials for a luncheon before leaving Alaska, but that gathering was canceled.
Echoing Trump, Putin blames Biden for Ukraine war
Not only was Russian President Vladimir Putin full of praise for President Trump after their meeting Friday in Alaska, but he also went out of his way to echo Trump in blaming former President Joe Biden for the war in Ukraine.
Describing Trump’s personal involvement in negotiations as “precious,” Putin predicted that it would ultimately help solve “the Ukrainian issue” and “help us bring back businesslike and pragmatic relations between Russia and the U.S.”
Then he strategically pivoted to Trump’s predecessor — and referenced a claim the president has often made about the latest phase of the war in Ukraine, which began when Putin invaded in 2022.
“In 2022, during the last contact with the previous administration, I tried to convince my previous American colleague that the situation should not be brought to the point of no return when it would come to hostilities,” Putin said through a translator. “That [would be] a big mistake.”
So “today, when President Trump is saying that if he was the president back then there will be no war, I’m quite sure that it would indeed be so,” Putin added. “I can confirm that.”
In 2022, Jeffrey Treistman, an assistant professor of national security at the University of New Haven, argued otherwise in The Hill, claiming that “Trump has a clear track record of undermining Ukraine’s sovereignty and security.”
Trump “would not have stopped Russia’s recent invasion of Ukraine” because his “foreign policies actually served to embolden Putin and weaken the trans-Atlantic alliance,” Treistman contended.
Trump says ‘no deal’ after meeting with Putin; signals talks will continue in future
After meeting for nearly three hours with Russian President Vladimir Putin, President Trump emerged from behind closed doors Friday at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska, saying negotiations had been “extremely productive” — while also acknowledging that no comprehensive ceasefire agreement had been reached.
“We haven’t quite got there, but we’ve got some headway,” Trump said. “There’s no deal until there’s a deal.”
The president went on to note that “many points were agreed to,” while “just a few … were left” unresolved — “one” of which, he added, is “more significant” than the others.
Earlier in the day, Trump said he wanted to “see a ceasefire, rapidly.”
“I don’t know if it’s going to be today, but I’m not going to be happy if it’s not today,” he warned.
During his joint press conference Friday with Putin, however, Trump signaled that negotiations would continue in the near future, saying that he would “call” NATO and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky because it was “ultimately up to them to agree with” the parameters of what his team and Putin’s team had discussed.
“We didn’t get there, but we have a very good chance of getting there,” Trump said. Then he addressed Putin directly, as “Vladimir.”
“We’ll speak to you very soon — and probably see you again very soon.”
“Next time in Moscow,” Putin interjected, drawing a chuckle from Trump.
“I’ll get heat for that,” Trump replied. “I can see that possibly happening.” (Yahoo News)
