Updated @ 12:38 PM EDT on August 16, 2025
Alaska’s Anchorage Following his failed ceasefire conference with Russian President Vladimir Putin, President Trump announced he would meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the White House on Monday to discuss ways to end Russia’s war on Ukraine.
Trump claimed on social media on Saturday that while returning to Washington from Alaska, he held conversations with Zelenskyy and European leaders.
“It was determined by all that the best way to end the horrific war between Russia and Ukraine is to go directly to a peace agreement, which would end the war, and not a mere ceasefire agreement, which often times do not hold up,” Trump wrote in his tweet.
Trump and Putin’s summit, which was hastily organized a week after it was first scheduled, was characterized by dramatic flourishes and no tangible results.
There were numerous topics on which we both agreed. In unusually brief remarks following the meeting, Trump stated, “I would say that we haven’t quite gotten there on the majority of them, but we’ve made some headway,” without going into specifics.
He had stated that he hoped to leave with a ceasefire before the summit, but he also tried to deflate expectations in the days before by claiming that it was only about feeling things out or setting the stage for a second meeting.
Leaders and lawmakers around the world, with the noteworthy exception of those in Russia, have responded with a mixture of dismay and hope.
Trump passes ball to Ukraine, and Zelenskyy
Zelenskyy, who was excluded from the negotiations in Alaska, stated that he will meet with Trump on Monday in Washington to talk about the next steps in bringing the war to a conclusion.
However, Kyiv lawmakers’ response was everything but positive.
On Telegram, Ukrainian legislator Oleksiy Honcharenko commented, “It appears Putin has bought himself more time.” “No cease-fire or any kind of de-escalation has been agreed upon.”
Zelenskyys said in a post on X that he had agreed to Trump’s request to travel to Washington on Monday “to discuss all of the details regarding ending the killing and the war.”
He continued by highlighting the significance of European cooperation in order to provide trustworthy security guarantees alongside the United States, pointing to “positive signals from the American side regarding participation in guaranteeing Ukraine’s security.”
He thanked everyone helping in the endeavor and emphasized that Ukraine is still coordinating with all of its partners.
Reaction among Russia delegation
President Putin described his trip to Alaska as “timely and very useful” after returning to Moscow. Speaking to a group of Kremlin officials, he characterized his discussions with President Trump as “frank and substantive,” adding that “we respect the position of the U.S. administrations position, which sees the need to end hostilities as soon as possible.”
The trip to Alaska demonstrated American exceptionalism at a time when President Putin is prohibited from traveling to more than 100 countries for fear of being detained by ICC-issued arrest warrants. The treaties that regulate the ICC do not include the United States as a party.
The court’s actions against Israel have drawn repeated criticism from U.S. leaders, who have lately sanctioned officials there. Thus, the summit gave the Russian leader a chance to join another world leader on a global platform. He mentioned a deal the two men had reached that would “pave the path towards peace in Ukraine” during the lengthy press conference with Trump, but again, he gave no specifics.
Putin went on to say, “We expect that Kyiv and European capitals will perceive that constructively and that they won’t throw a wrench in the works,” a reference to the part that several European leaders have played in helping Zelenskyy in his recent interactions with the Trump White House.
He expressed his hope that officials in Europe will “not make any attempts to use some backroom dealings to conduct provocations to torpedo the nascent progress.”
Dmitry Peskov, Putin’s spokesperson who had also visited Alaska, called the meeting between Trump and Putin “very positive,” adding that neither leader had to respond to questions from the small group of journalists present because their remarks had been “exhaustive,” according to state-run RIA Novosti.
The Alaska talk might let the two presidents “confidently move forward together” along a road that would provide possibilities for peace, according to the Russian spokesperson.
Europeans remain key to a ceasefire
Despite Zelenskyy’s absence, European leaders had been working hard in recent days to bolster Ukraine’s diplomatic position in the negotiations, and some parliamentarians were a little irate.
The Estonian Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman, Marko Mihkelson, stated on social media that the meeting “was not surprising.” Putin was successful in his attempt to degrade the United States.
For Trump to turn a losing hand into a winning one, he added, “real pressure on Russia” was necessary.
Dovile Sakaliene, Lithuania’s defense minister, wrote on X that Putin’s remarks regarding Europe’s ability to impede development were “gaslighting and veiled threats,” adding that Russian soldiers had been “bombing civilians in Ukraine” in the hours prior to the summit.
“While thanking Trump for his efforts to negotiate a peace agreement, Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky cautioned about Kremlin propaganda. He wrote on X, “Russian imperialism is the problem.” “If Putin were serious about peace talks, he would not have been attacking Ukraine all day.”
Sen. Graham says new sanctions can wait
Following the event, Trump told Fox News that he had ruled out the possibility of sanctions against Russia if the peace talks did not succeed.
In a statement, Senate Foreign Relations Committee ranking Democrat Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., claimed that Trump had “rolled out a red carpet and warmly greeted a murderous dictator on American soil” and expressed her belief that the Senate should work to impose sanctions.
Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., who has been working on a new sanctions measure, indicated that he might be open to extending the time for negotiations.
“If there’s a trilateral meeting between President @realdonaldtrump, President Zelensky and Putin, then I am cautiously optimistic that this war will end well before Christmas,” he said on X. “If the meeting doesn’t happen, I think President Trump may deliver severe consequences to Putin and those who buy his oil and gas.”
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