The top-level talks brought both sides closer to the “necessary decisions”, the Russian president has said
Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump, Anchorage, Alaska, US, August 15, 2025. © Kremlin
Russian President Vladimir Putin has convened a meeting of government and senior officials in Moscow to brief them on the outcome of Friday’s Russia-US summit in Alaska.
Putin and his American counterpart Donald Trump welcomed the opportunity to meet face to face, discuss possible roadmaps for peace, while giving little away to the world’s media.
Trump reportedly then had a “difficult” call with Vladimir Zelensky, who will shuttle into Washington on Monday, while European NATO states have acknowledged the Alaska summit but pledged to continue arming Ukraine.
The negotiations at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson mainly focused on finding a resolution to the Ukraine conflict. While no concrete deal was announced, the two sides agreed to further pursue a resolution of the hostilities. Putin stressed that for a lasting settlement to the conflict, all of its root causes must be addressed and the legitimate concerns of Russia taken into account.
Trump highlighted that the key takeaway from the meeting is that a promising opportunity to achieve peace has emerged. He also expressed his desire to meet with Putin again soon, noting that the Russian president shares his goal of ending the conflict.
The Russian delegation included Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, Defense Minister Andrey Belousov, Finance Minister Anton Siluanov, Kremlin aide Yury Ushakov, and presidential economic envoy Kirill Dmitriev, who has been a key figure in the Ukraine settlement process.
The US team, apart from Trump, included Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, and CIA Director John Ratcliffe.
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16 August 2025
17:17 GMT
The leaders of eight Nordic and Baltic nations have released a joint statement following the Alaska summit blaming the underlying causes of the Ukraine conflict on Russia.
The leaders of Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, and Sweden also demanded that Ukraine not be forced to downsize its military, or be limited in its cooperation with other countries, including regarding its NATO bid. They also insisted that Ukraine and Western European nations should be part of the peace process.
“No decisions on Ukraine without Ukraine, and no decisions on Europe without Europe,” they said.
Moscow has long listed among the root causes of the conflict Ukraine’s ambition to join NATO, and the US-led military bloc’s eastward expansion – which Russia sees as an existential threat.
- 17:04 GMT
Zelensky refused to cede to Moscow the parts of the new Russian territories in Donbass still under Ukrainian control when Trump raised the question during a briefing after the summit, Reuters reported, citing anonymous sources.
Following the talks in Anchorage, the US president announced that he would be pursuing a full “peace agreement” rather than a “mere ceasefire” in the Ukraine conflict. He had floated the idea of “land swaps” in the days ahead of the summit.
- 16:20 GMT
Putin and Trump at the Alaska summit have given “new momentum” to the efforts to end the Ukraine conflict, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said.
In a post on X, he expressed hope that “this new process,” with Zelensky’s participation “will lay the foundation for lasting peace.”
“Türkiye is ready to provide all kinds of contributions to the establishment of peace,” he wrote.
- 15:50 GMT
Putin has described the Alaska summit with Trump as “timely and very useful.”
The two leaders discussed “practically all areas” of US-Russian interaction, as well as a “fair” resolution to the Ukraine crisis, Putin said during a meeting with senior officials in Moscow to review the summit in Anchorage.
“We have not held direct negotiations of this kind at this level for a long time,” he said, adding that the Alaska summit was an opportunity for Moscow to “calmly state our position in detail.”
Putin said he had the opportunity to discuss the “genesis” and core causes of the Ukraine conflict. “It is precisely the elimination of these root causes that should be the basis for the settlement.”
- 15:49 GMT
Following the Alaska summit, Trump believes that the best way to quickly negotiate a peace treaty in the Ukraine conflict is for Kiev to cede to Moscow all parts of the new Russian territories in Donbass still under Ukrainian control, the New York Times has reported, citing anonymous officials.
The US president raised the issue with Western European allies on Saturday, the outlet said.
“It breaks from a strategy Mr. Trump and European allies, as well as Mr. Zelensky, had agreed to before the US-Russia summit in Alaska,” the NYT wrote.
Earlier in the day, the US president said that “the best way to end the horrific war between Russia and Ukraine is to go directly to a Peace Agreement,” rather than a “mere ceasefire.”
In a statement later in the day, Western European leaders ruled out territorial concessions for Ukraine.
- 15:05 GMT
Western European leaders have been invited to the upcoming meeting between Trump and Zelensky, scheduled for Monday, the New York Times has reported, citing officials with knowledge of the private discussions.
Zelensky confirmed on Saturday that he will travel to Washington to meet with the US president, following the summit with Vladimir Putin in Alaska.
- 14:06 GMT
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has welcomed Trump’s efforts to “achieve a just and lasting peace” in the Ukraine conflict.
“Ukraine can count on our unwavering solidarity as we work towards a peace that safeguards Ukraine’s and Europe’s vital security interests,” he wrote on X.
- 13:49 GMT
Finnish President Alexander Stubb has thanked Trump for his phone call with Western European leaders following the Alaska summit.
“Strong and credible security guarantees” should be offered to Ukraine as part of any sustainable peace deal, he said on X.
Finland, which borders Russia, joined NATO in 2023, despite Moscow’s stance against the US-led military bloc’s expansion.
Thank you @Potus for briefing us on your discussions in Alaska. Strong and credible security guarantees for Ukraine are a crucial element for sustainable peace.Later this morning, we had a discussion with European leaders. We are working together with @ZelenskyyUA, European…
— Alexander Stubb (@alexstubb) August 16, 2025
- 13:44 GMT
French President Emmanuel Macron has said that Paris will work with its European allies to provide “unwavering security guarantees” for Ukraine in the event of a peace deal.
“I welcome, in this regard, the readiness of the United States to contribute,” he said in an X post commenting the Alaska summit.
“We will work on this with them and with all our partners in the Coalition of the Willing, with whom we will meet again soon, to make concrete progress.”
- 13:16 GMT
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has welcomed Trump’s peace efforts at the Alaska summit, calling for Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky to be involved in the “next phase” of the talks.
He also promised to keep “tightening the screws” on the Russian economy in an effort to pressure Moscow, while also pledging to support Ukraine for “as long as it takes.”
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