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Trump-Putin Summit in Alaska: War, Nukes, and a Deal on the Line
In a high-stakes summit for peace, Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin will meet on Friday, August 15, at an air force base in Anchorage, with Ukraine’s fate, fresh nuclear talks, and both leaders’ legacies hanging in the balance.
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US President Donald Trump and Russian leader Vladimir Putin will meet on Friday at 11:30 a.m. Alaska time (8:30 p.m. London) at a Cold War-era air force base in Anchorage for their first face-to-face talks since Trump returned to the White House, according to Reuters on August 14.
The meeting comes amid uncertainty over whether the two men can strike a deal to end the Russian war against Ukraine—and with an unexpected nuclear proposal from Putin on the table.
The White House said Trump will leave Washington early Friday morning, arriving in Alaska just hours before the talks. He is set to depart Anchorage at 5:45 p.m. local time and return to Washington in the early hours of Saturday.
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Trump suggested that if Friday’s talks with Putin go well, arranging a follow-up three-way summit with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy—who was not invited to Alaska—would be even more important than the Putin meeting itself.
Ceasefire or stalemate?
Trump is pushing for a truce in Ukraine as part of his bid to position himself as a global peacemaker worthy of a Nobel Peace Prize—something he openly values.
On August 13, Ukrainian and European leaders said a conference call with Trump reassured them that Kyiv must be part of any talks involving potential territorial changes.
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Zelenskyy also said Trump voiced support for post-war security guarantees, though the US leader has not made that statement publicly.
The reassurances eased fears of a backroom Trump-Putin deal that could pressure Ukraine into land or political concessions.
Putin, facing mounting strain on Russia’s war economy and tighter Western sanctions, is seeking relief—either through Trump rolling back measures or at least halting further sanctions.
On the eve of the summit, Putin dangled another prize Trump wants: a new nuclear arms control agreement to replace the last major treaty set to expire in February.
Signals of a deal
Trump said he believes Putin will agree to a Ukraine deal, though he has wavered on the likelihood of a breakthrough. Putin praised what he called Washington’s “sincere efforts” to end the war.
A Kremlin source told Reuters there may already be some informal agreement: “Apparently, some terms will be agreed upon tomorrow because Trump cannot be refused, and we are not in a position to refuse due to sanctions pressure.”
According to Reuters, Putin’s current ceasefire conditions are strict, but a phased halt to the air war is reportedly one possible compromise. Both sides accuse the other of violating previous truces.
Analysts warn that Putin could appear to give Trump a win while keeping the option to escalate.
“If they’re able to put a deal on the table that creates some kind of ceasefire but leaves Russia in control of escalation… that would be a wonderful outcome from Putin’s perspective,” said Sam Greene, director of Democratic Resilience at the Center for European Policy Analysis.
In addition, on August 14, Russia finalized the lineup of its delegation for the upcoming negotiations in Alaska, which will include Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Presidential Aide Yury Ushakov, Defense Minister Andrey Belousov, Finance Minister Anton Siluanov, and the President’s Special Representative for Investment and Economic Cooperation, CEO of the Russian Direct Investment Fund Kirill Dmitriev.
Land and legacy
Zelenskyy has accused Putin of bluffing to avoid US secondary sanctions and ruled out handing over any territory. Trump has floated land transfers as a possible solution.
Putin’s war aims remain ambitious: full control of eastern Ukraine’s Donbas region (Donetsk and Luhansk), complete occupation of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions, NATO membership off the table for Kyiv, and limits on Ukraine’s military.
Ukraine has rejected these demands as unacceptable, saying they amount to surrender.
Earlier, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated that security guarantees for Ukraine and territorial concessions should be part of peace negotiations with Russia.
