A long-awaited summit between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin ended without any agreement on halting war in Ukraine, though both leaders described their meeting as useful.
The talks, held in Alaska on Friday, lasted nearly three hours. Standing before a backdrop that read “Pursuing Peace,” both leaders briefly addressed the media but avoided questions. Trump said progress had been made, while Putin claimed the discussions should be viewed as constructive. However, neither offered details and no breakthrough on a ceasefire was announced.
Analysts said that for Putin, simply sitting down with an American president was a symbolic win, given his isolation from Western leaders since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Trump later told Fox News that he would delay imposing tariffs on China over its purchase of Russian oil, suggesting his talks with Putin had influenced the decision.
Trump also hinted at the possibility of arranging a future meeting involving Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, but provided no timeline. Putin, meanwhile, repeated Russia’s stance that the so-called “root causes” of the conflict must be addressed before any lasting peace could emerge.
Ukraine has so far ruled out territorial concessions and has demanded firm security guarantees from the United States and its allies. There was no immediate response from Kyiv following the summit.
As the leaders met, air raid sirens sounded across eastern Ukraine and drone attacks were reported on both sides of the border. Ukrainian officials said dozens of Russian drones targeted multiple regions overnight, while Moscow reported intercepting Ukrainian drones over its southern territories.
The Alaska meeting marked the first encounter between Putin and a US president since the war began, but it left the core issue unresolved: how to stop the deadliest conflict in Europe in decades.