History was made on August 15, 2025 when Russian President Vladimir Putin and former U.S. President Donald Trump hugged. They convened at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska. In short, this symbolic meeting was meant to address the war in Ukraine that continues today. Putin said that the meeting was “useful and timely,” according to the Russian news agency TASS.
It was a three-hour, highly stage-managed meeting, during which Putin offered a ceasefire throughout Ukraine on existing front lines. He threw in a written pledge not to invade Ukraine or any other European country ever again. Yet at the same time he was issuing dramatic territorial demands, demanding that Ukraine surrender its territory to Russia in return for so-called peace. Putin suggested a freeze of the frontline, in the southern theater of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia oblasts. In return, he demands to be gifted permanent control over the Donetsk region of Ukraine.
Given the numerous, lofty expectations from the summit, there was little to show for the conversations that took place. The meeting concluded with no mutual concession to settle the dispute. It was considered a public relations coup for Putin, who bluffed his way to success as he got to the first former U.S. leader without any concessions or the lifting of any sanctions.
Among Putin’s demands were a full military pullout of Ukrainian forces from the eastern provinces of Donetsk and Luhansk. These maximalist positions are a sign of his continued strategy in the region, and of his unwillingness to give up ground on the battlefield. For its part, the Kremlin hailed the summit as a major success. They thought that it showed off Putin’s prowess as an international actor.
Western leaders’ responses were muted. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy emphasized that all critical issues concerning Ukraine must be addressed with its participation, stating that “no issue, particularly territorial ones, can be decided without Ukraine.” He has called for ironclad security guarantees, which ensures the security of Ukraine and Europe.
Yet as the world worked toward some kind of ceasefire, that was not the message that Trump’s comments conveyed. Accordingly, he expressed his concern about departing without having made any progress towards peace. He seeks a violent and rapid end to the violence on the ground.
The backdrop of this meeting is significant. Indeed, Putin now personally risks arrest in 125 countries. This follows on from the fact that the International Criminal Court (ICC) already indicted him for committing war crimes that included the abduction of children from occupied territories in Ukraine. This legal double whammy does not make his diplomatic task any easier.
Dmitry Medvedev, a key figure in the ruling United Russia party, said afterwards that the meeting showed talks could happen without any preconditions. His comments intimate an important pivot away from zero-sum diplomatic calculus as tensions continue to unfold.
As the summit was being heavily watched by international observers, both sides understood that the future of their discussion held greater implications now. European leaders responded with cautious optimism but were nevertheless encouraged that weekend negotiations might help clear a path towards long-term peace in Ukraine.
Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, has been vocal about how strong security guarantees for Ukraine must involve heavy lifting and boots on the ground. She stated, “The EU is working closely with Zelenskyy and the United States to reach a just and lasting peace.”