Trump-Putin Alaska summit: What’s on the agenda and what’s at stake?

United States President Donald Trump and Russia’s President Vladimir Putin are acceptable to conscionable successful Anchorage, Alaska, connected Friday successful a bid to find communal crushed that could pb to a lasting ceasefire woody successful Russia’s three-year-long warfare connected Ukraine.

The highly anticipated gathering is the latest successful Trump’s numerous, but truthful acold unsuccessful, attempts to extremity the Ukraine warfare and support the promises helium made connected the run way past year, erstwhile helium claimed helium would extremity the struggle wrong 24 hours if elected.

It besides marks the archetypal clip successful a decennary that Putin volition sojourn the US, arsenic good arsenic the first-ever sojourn of a Russian person to Alaska.

While President Trump has tried to downplay expectations up of the meeting, helium besides warned connected Thursday that Russia could look “serious consequences” if Putin did not hold to a ceasefire.

Here’s what to cognize astir the Alaska meeting:

When and wherever are Trump and Putin meeting?

Both leaders volition conscionable astatine the US military’s Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson successful Anchorage, Alaska.

The clip of the gathering is scheduled for astir 11:30am Alaska clip (19:30 GMT), though this could change.

Accompanying Russian delegation members include: Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, Defence Minister Andrei Belousov, Finance Minister Anton Siluanov, Presidential Aide Yuri Ushakov, and Special Presidential Envoy connected Foreign Investment and Economic Cooperation Kirill Dmitriev.

It is not yet wide who volition travel Trump for the gathering from the US side.

Are Zelenskyy and European leaders attending?

No, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy volition not be the Alaska meeting, nor volition European leaders.

Asked wherefore Zelenskyy was not astatine the table, Trump chided the Ukrainian president astatine a White House quality briefing connected August 11, saying that Zelenskyy had ruled for 3 years and “nothing happened” successful presumption of ending the war.

“I would accidental helium could go, but he’s gone to a batch of meetings,” Trump said.

Analyst Neil Melvin of the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), a London-based deliberation tank, said Europe was fundamentally an perceiver successful a substance that could find its destiny due to the fact that it lacked leverage. “​European leaders person been relegated to the margins with the [European Union] seen by Trump and Putin arsenic mostly irrelevant,” helium said.

Ahead of the meeting, connected Wednesday, Trump, alongside US Vice President JD Vance, held a virtual gathering with Zelenskyy and different European leaders. Analysts accidental it was a last effort connected the portion of the Europeans to steer the gathering successful Ukraine’s favour.

Zelenskyy joined the virtual gathering from Berlin. Other leaders who attended were from Germany, the United Kingdom, Italy, Finland and Poland. European Commission caput Ursula von der Leyen and NATO main Mark Rutte were besides present.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, left, is welcomed by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz successful Berlin to articulation a video league of European leaders with the US president connected the Ukraine warfare up of the acme betwixt the US and Russian leaders, connected August 13, 2025 [John Macdougall/Reuters]

What’s the value of Alaska arsenic the venue?

Alaska, which is located northwest of the US mainland, is the closest constituent astatine which Russia and the US are neighbours. The US authorities is person to Russia than it is to the US mainland. On the Russian side, it is closest to the autonomous Chukotka district.

Originally inhabited by Indigenous Americans, the portion was archetypal colonised by the aged Russian empire successful the 18th century. Due to the precocious costs of maintaining the faraway location, Moscow sold Alaska to the US successful 1867 for $7.2m, the equivalent of $162m today. Russian power inactive abounds successful the region, disposable successful the Russian Orthodox churches inactive present, and adjacent successful the Russian surnames of immoderate Alaskans.

The Elmendorf-Richardson base, wherever the gathering volition beryllium held, is besides significant: It was primitively an aerial unit basal built successful 1940, during World War II. But its relation expanded importantly during the Cold War that followed. The US was disquieted astir imaginable Soviet attacks connected Alaska, and frankincense built monitors and anti-aircraft systems to antagonistic immoderate threats. The airbase was an important portion of that mission. The aerial squadrons based determination are inactive positioned to intercept immoderate Russian craft that mightiness question to participate US airspace.

Still, the US has not clarified wherefore it chose Alaska arsenic the venue for the summit.

What’s connected the agenda?

The 2 leaders volition sermon the presumption for a imaginable ceasefire betwixt Russia and Ukraine.

On the docket is however specified a woody could look, including imaginable territorial concessions connected either side.

Russia invaded Ukraine successful February 2022. Its subject presently controls astir 19 percent of Ukrainian onshore crossed Crimea, Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhia, Kherson and tiny parts of Kharkiv, Sumy, Mykolaiv, and Dnipropetrovsk provinces.

Ukraine controlled parts of Russia’s Kursk portion from August 2024 but has since mislaid astir of the territory.

What onshore swaps could Trump and Putin discuss?

Trump, connected Monday, suggested successful a quality briefing that Ukraine and Russia could swap territory successful bid to scope a onshore deal.

However, helium walked backmost that proposition connected Tuesday astatine different briefing arsenic his proposition proved arguable crossed Europe. Trump promised to get backmost immoderate Ukrainian territory.

“Russia occupied a large information of Ukraine. They occupied premier territory. We’re going to effort to get immoderate of that territory backmost for Ukraine,” helium said.

As portion of immoderate swap deal, analysts judge that Putin volition property for Ukraine to retreat from the parts of Donetsk that its troops inactive control. That would springiness Russia implicit power of the Donbas region, which includes Luhansk and Donetsk – Russia already controls astir each of Luhansk – successful summation to Crimea and chunks of Kherson, Zaporizhia and different confederate regions. It volition besides privation Ukraine to relinquish the tiny portion of Kursk successful Russia that Kyiv’s forces occupy.

In exchange, Russia mightiness beryllium consenting to springiness up the tiny areas successful the Sumy and Kharkiv regions nether its control.

Moscow invaded and illegally occupied Crimea successful March 2014. Pro-Russian militias seized parts of the Donbas starting from April 2014, triggering struggle with resisting Ukrainian troops. Much of the portion was past taken implicit by invading Russian forces pursuing Russia’s 2022 penetration of Ukraine.

What are Trump’s expectations for the summit?

President Trump said connected Monday that helium expects this gathering to beryllium a “feel-type” speech betwixt him and Putin, 1 wherever helium understands what the Russian person wants.

A 2nd meeting, helium has said, is apt going to travel from it soon and volition see Zelenskyy and Putin, with Trump apt hosting it.

However, Trump sounded a much terrible code connected Wednesday. He warned that if the Friday gathering ended without Russia agreeing to bid successful Ukraine, determination would beryllium “very terrible consequences” for Russia.

Trump did not specify what US actions mightiness be. He’d earlier threatened economical sanctions connected Russia “within 50 days” if Moscow did not extremity the war. However, the Alaska gathering was announced arsenic the deadline of August 8 arrived, with nary important enactment from Washington.

Presently, Russia is nether important Western sanctions, including bans connected its banks and its crude oil. In precocious July, the US slammed India with tariffs for buying Russian oil, and this week, US officials person warned of secondary sanctions connected that state if Friday’s talks fail.

What has Russia said it wants from the meeting?

Moscow presented a connection to the US connected August 6, past week, stating its requests, according to reporting by the Wall Street Journal.

Russia’s asks stay akin to its stated goals successful June 2024. Moscow says it volition halt the warfare if:

• Kyiv drops its ambitions to articulation NATO, and if the state disarms significantly.
• If Kyiv pulls backmost and cedes each of the Donbas successful instrumentality for Russia halting advances connected Kherson and Zaporizhia, and handing backmost tiny occupied parts of Sumy and Kharkiv.
• If Western sanctions are relaxed arsenic portion of a bid deal.

But Russian officials person since besides indicated that they privation immoderate question towards bid to besides service arsenic a launchpad for improved ties with the US. Putin’s delegation for the Alaska acme suggests that Russia mightiness marque economical offers – including the committedness of investments successful the US – to Trump.

Ukrainian recruits undergoing subject grooming astatine an undisclosed determination successful the Zaporizhia region, southeastern Ukraine, August 11, 2025, amid the Russian penetration [Handout/Ukraine’s 65th Mechanised Brigade via EPA]

What are Ukraine and Europe seeking from the talks?

Zelenkyy has successful the past said that Ukraine volition not cede territory.

He reiterated that connected August 9, successful airy of Putin’s connection to Trump, and stated that Ukraine would not “gift onshore to the occupier” and that it was intolerable to bash truthful nether Ukrainian law.

Europe, meanwhile, has been tense astir what Trump mightiness hold to. Following the three-way telephone betwixt Trump, Zelenskyy and European leaders connected Wednesday, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, French President Emmanuel Macron, and the UK’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer outlined what the European conjugation wanted:

• That the US not hold to immoderate territorial deals without Ukraine being present
• Ukraine needs credible information guarantees arsenic portion of immoderate bid deal, that is, a warrant of non-invasion by Russia.
• Zelenskyy reiterated those calls and added that Ukraine should inactive beryllium allowed to articulation NATO if a ceasefire is reached. He besides said sanctions should beryllium strengthened if Russia fails to hold to a bid woody connected Friday.

What could the result be?

Some analysts are hopeful astir the prospects of the beginnings of a bid woody emerging from the summit. The large question, they say, is whether Ukraine volition hold to a imaginable woody betwixt the 2 leaders successful Alaska, if its presumption are unplatable to Kyiv.

However, others, similar Melvin of RUSI, deliberation this gathering is ultimately a play by Russia to stall the US from making bully connected its sanctions threat, portion allowing Moscow to support advancing militarily successful Ukraine.

“Putin believes that helium tin triumph [and] is anxious to stall the United States and immoderate further unit it whitethorn question to enactment connected Russia,” helium said. “The astir apt result of the acme is past that determination whitethorn beryllium immoderate announcements of steps forward, but the warfare volition continue.”