live Alaska Summit: What next after no ceasefire?

Latest round of peace talks aimed at ending the war in Ukraine appear to have yielded no concrete results even as President Trump remains hopeful.

While appearing on Fox News after the bilateral meeting with Russia, Trump seemed to hint at a possible prisoner of war release. 

He said "I have a book of thousands of people that they presented me with today, thousands of prisoners, who will get released," 

It is unclear if the prisoners of war are Russian or Ukranian however as he continued to say the meeting was "10 out of 10". 

He also mentioned a "one big thing" that prevented a deal from being reached at the meeting, saying instead that a peace deal was close. 

He has now said that another meeting would be set up between Kyiv and Moscow with both Presidents in attendance. 

President Trump and Russia's Putin skipped lunch and went in straight to a press conference where they both gave speeches and left shortly after without taking questions from journalists. 

Russia appeared to share in Trump's optimism with Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov describing the meeting between Trump and Putin as "very positive".

Ukraine on the other hand reiterated its readiness to support efforts made towards a ceasefire. 

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy made this known on his X account while talks were ongoing in Anchorage. 

He also accused Russia of carrying out attacks on the day of peace talks saying that it "speaks volumes". 

He also said there would be upcoming discussions with his European allies on the morning after the Alaskan summit.

Talks underway in Anchorage Alaska

U.S. President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart have arrived in Alaska for his high-stakes summit with Russia's Vladimir Putin after saying he wants to see a ceasefire in the war in Ukraine "today."

The meeting originally slated to be a one on one between the Russian and American Presidents have expanded to include two other diplomats from each side. 

On the American side, Secretary of state, Marco Rubio and Washington envoy, Steve Witkoff will be joining Trump in the meeting. 

While Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and foreign policu adviser Yuri Ushakov will sit in with President Putin.

In the back drop of this European leaders share cautious optimism on the outcome of the critical peace talks. 

This comes after a joint call on Wednesday with Donald Trump where they stressed that Ukraine's borders must not be "forcefully changed" after President Zelenskyy was seemingly sidelined from the summit.

Trump’s mention of “land swapping” days before the summit sparked protests from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and European Leaders who insist that Ukraine's territorial integrity must be upheld. 

While boarding Air Force one, President Trump allayed any fears of making a deal that would give Russia control of up to 22% of Ukraine saying “I'm not here to negotiate for Ukraine, I'm here to get them at a table.”

What's at stake?

While discussions today focus broadly on terms to end the war in Ukraine, Kyiv is keen on regaining control of its cities currently occupied by Russia. 

President Putin however insists on “international legal recognition” of Moscow’s 2014 annexation of Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula and its 2022 annexation of the Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions.

Other demands include:

- Ukraine's formal renunciation of its intention to join NATO.

- Ukraine's formal withdrawal from Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions.

- The lifting of western sanctions against Russia.

Russian Foreign Ministry's deputy spokesperson, Alexei Fadeev, reiterated that his country's demands have not changed. 
"Russia's position remains unchanged, and it was voiced in this very hall just over a year ago, on June 14, 2024," he said.

Meeting started and lunch plans

The three-on-three meeting between President Donald Trump and President Vladimir Putin got underway in Alaska, with an initial schedule of just 40 minutes. Both leaders sat down with their top advisers for high-stakes discussions on Ukraine and broader U.S.-Russia relations.

A working lunch was planned to follow the talks. According to leaks, the menu featured a green salad with champagne vinaigrette dressing and sourdough bread served with rosemary lemon butter as the first course. For the main course, guests could choose between filet mignon with brandy peppercorn sauce or halibut Olympia, accompanied by buttery whipped potatoes and roasted asparagus. Dessert was set to be crème brûlée with ice cream.

Trump and Putin conclude three-on-three meeting after nearly three hours

U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin ended their three-on-three meeting after nearly three hours. The leaders are going to skip the working lunch, with their joint press conference set to start soon.

Putin envoy says Alaska summit talks went “remarkably well”

Russian special envoy Kirill Dmitriev said the expanded summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska went “remarkably well” after nearly three hours of discussions on Ukraine.

Russian envoy links property dispute to broader U.S. talks

Russian Ambassador to the U.S. Alexander Darchiev said progress on other bilateral issues will be difficult without the return of Russia’s confiscated diplomatic property in the United States. He added that documents have been prepared to restore air travel between the two countries and discussions on the matter are ongoing.

Putin highlights constructive dialogue in Alaska summit

At the joint press conference, Russian President Vladimir Putin described the talks with U.S. President Donald Trump as “constructive,” thanking Trump for the invitation and saying it was “logical” to meet in Alaska.

Putin noted that Alaska represents “a part of the shared history of Russia and the United States” and recalled moments in history when both countries fought “common enemies,” stressing that this heritage should guide future cooperation.

Acknowledging a difficult period in bilateral relations, Putin said it was “necessary to rectify the situation” and underlined that “very good direct contacts” had been established with Trump.

On Ukraine, Putin said it was one of the main topics of discussion and praised Trump’s “desire to understand the essence of the conflict.” He stressed that Russia is “sincerely interested to end the conflict” but insisted that “all root causes must be eliminated, and all of Russia’s concerns must be taken into account.” He added that he agreed with Trump that Ukraine’s security must be ensured, expressing hope that “mutual understanding will bring peace to Ukraine.”

Putin also pointed to the potential for a Russia-U.S. investment partnership and said he expects Ukraine and Europe “will not try to sabotage talks.” Thanking Trump for a “cooperation and friendly tone,” Putin said he hopes today’s agreements will serve as “a starting point for the restoration of relations” between Moscow and Washington.

In a striking remark, Putin added that he believed “the conflict would not have happened if Trump was president.”

Trump calls Alaska summit “very productive”

U.S. President Donald Trump opened his remarks by thanking Vladimir Putin, calling the Alaska meeting “very productive” with “many, many points” agreed upon. He acknowledged that “a couple of big ones” remain unresolved but stressed, “there’s no deal until there’s a deal.”

Trump said he would soon call NATO leaders, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and other officials to brief them on the summit, noting that “ultimately it is up to them.” He also praised his team, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio and envoy Steve Witkoff, and highlighted the presence of Russian business representatives, saying the United States had become “the hottest country anywhere in the world in a very short period of time.”

Reflecting on his relationship with Putin, Trump said they had “many tough meetings, good meetings” over the years but were hindered by what he called the “Russia hoax,” which he described as “very criminal” and damaging to U.S.-Russia relations. He added, “President Putin knew it was a hoax, and I knew it was a hoax, but it made it harder for us to deal as a country.”

Despite that history, Trump insisted that progress had been made. “We had an extremely productive meeting, and many points were agreed upon. There are just a very few that are left. Some are not that significant. One is probably the most significant. But we have a very good chance of getting there.”

He thanked Putin and his delegation, saying both leaders share the goal of ending bloodshed. “We’re going to stop thousands of people a week from being killed. And President Putin wants to see that as much as I do.” Trump concluded by saying, “We’ll speak to you very soon and probably see you again very soon.”

Putin invites Trump to Moscow

Trump said there is a strong possibility of meeting Putin again soon. In response, Putin added that the next meeting should take place in Moscow, signalling his readiness to continue direct dialogue.

Putin lays flowers at graves of Soviet pilots in Alaska after summit

Russian President Vladimir Putin paid tribute to Soviet pilots buried in Alaska after concluding his summit with U.S. President Donald Trump.

Putin laid flowers at the graves of the airmen who lost their lives during World War Two while training or transporting U.S.-built aircraft to the Soviet Union under the lend-lease programme. Many of the pilots perished in Alaska due to accidents and harsh weather conditions while supporting the wartime effort.

Putin departs Alaska after summit with Trump

President Vladimir Putin boarded his plane and departed Alaska following his high-stakes summit with U.S. President Donald Trump.

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