Putin, Trump and Russia
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President Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin are scheduled to meet Friday at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska, to discuss the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.
With no strategy of their own for ending the war, the continent’s leaders are anxious that President Trump will force Kyiv to accept terms that favor Russia too much.
12hon MSN
Ukraine’s Zelenskyy to meet Trump on Monday after US-Russia summit secured no halt to fighting
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says he will meet U.S. President Donald Trump in Washington on Monday after a Russia-U.S. summit concluded without an agreement to stop the fighting in Ukraine after 3 1/2 years.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov held calls on Saturday with his Turkish and Hungarian counterparts, the Russian foreign ministry said, hours after a summit between the U.S. and Russian presidents yielded no deal on ending the war in Ukraine.
"This is a Russian tactic before any negotiations," Alina Alekseeva, the deputy head of Ukraine's Center for Countering Disinformation, told the Kyiv Independent.
The two presidents met for more than 2 1/2 hours. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin are in Alaska on Friday for a high-stakes summit as the U.S. seeks a ceasefire in the Russia-Ukraine war. One key party who will not be in attendance Friday at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska, is Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Trump said Thursday he hopes the summit will lead to a second meeting that would include Zelenskyy. "I think it's going to be a good meeting, but the more important meeting will be the second meeting that we're having. We're going to have a meeting with President Putin, President Zelenskyy, myself and maybe we'll bring some of the European leaders, maybe not," Trump said. Much remains unclear at this stage following the nearly three-hour meeting. Putin said he and his counterpart had reached an "agreement," though did not provide any further details on what was agreed to. Trump did not mention any agreement. He said there was "great progress" on several points but also did not provide any further details. He also did not go into detail on what areas they still need to iron out. He stopped short of announcing a ceasefire, which was a priority of Trump's for Friday's summit. Trump said he will call up NATO and, "of course," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to discuss Friday's meeting. "So ultimately, up to them," he said. Neither Putin nor Trump took any questions from the hundreds of reporters gathered in the room, instead quickly shaking hands before leaving the stage. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin shake hands during a press conference following their meeting to negotiate an end to the war in Ukraine, at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, in Anchorage, Alaska, August 15, 2025. President Donald Trump holds a press conference with Russian President Vladimir Putin following their meeting to negotiate an end to the war in Ukraine, at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska, August 15, 2025. Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images In brief remarks following Putin's lengthier address to reporters, Trump called the negotiations "extremely productive" and that "many points" were agreed to but, "There's no deal until there's a deal." He said there are a few more points to get to, including one that was "most significant," but didn't go into detail as to what that was. "We didn't get there, but we have a very good chance of getting there," he said. He made no mention of a ceasefire. Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks during a joint press conference with President Donald Trump after participating in a US-Russia summit on Ukraine at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska, August 15, 2025. Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images Speaking in Russian through a State Department interpreter, Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke first at the joint press briefing. He began talking about how Russia and the U.S. are "close neighbors" and that this can mark a new stage of rebuilding and fostering "mutually beneficial and equal ties." Putin said he has "every reason to believe that moving down this path, we can come to the end of the conflict in Ukraine."