Trump-Putin Alaska Summit Updates: ‘Up to Zelenskyy’ to secure deal, says Trump after Putin offers to meet 'next time in Moscow'

Donald Trump said he would postpone raising tariffs on Chinese goods over Beijing’s imports of Russian oil, pointing to progress he claimed was made with Vladimir Putin toward ending the war in Ukraine.

“Because of what happened today, I think I don’t have to think about that,” Trump told Fox News’ Sean Hannity on Friday after his summit with Putin. “Now, I may have to think about it in two weeks or three weeks or something, but we don’t have to think about that right now.”

Earlier this month, Trump had warned of additional tariffs on countries buying Russian energy to pressure Putin into peace talks with Ukraine. He has already doubled duties on Indian products to 50 per cent starting August 27 over New Delhi’s oil imports from Moscow.

US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin did not take questions at Friday’s joint press conference because their remarks were already comprehensive, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said.

“Exhaustive statements were made,” Peskov told Russia’s RIA Novosti news agency when asked why the leaders only delivered prepared remarks.

“The conversation is really very positive, and the two presidents spoke about it. This is the very conversation that allows us to confidently continue moving forward together on the path of seeking resolution options,” Peskov added, according to RIA.

President Donald Trump said he appreciated Hillary Clinton’s comment that she would nominate him for a Nobel Peace Prize if he managed to broker peace in Ukraine — though he insisted he isn’t seeking the award.

“I don’t want to be involved in such stuff,” Trump said, before adding that his former presidential rival’s remarks were “very nice. If she said that, it’s very nice. I really appreciate it too, actually.”

Earlier Friday, Clinton said she would personally nominate Trump for the prize if he were the “architect” of ending Russia’s war in Ukraine — but only if it did not involve Ukraine giving up territory to Russia.

US President Donald Trump pulled out all the stops to give Russian President Vladimir Putin a grand welcome, as images of American troops kneeling to roll out a red carpet for the Kremlin leader went viral.

President Donald Trump indicated he would hold off on imposing additional sanctions or other “severe consequences” against Russia, saying his meeting with Vladimir Putin had gone “very well.”

“Because of what happened today, I think I don’t have to think about that now,” Trump told Fox News’ Sean Hannity. “I may have to think about it in two weeks or three weeks or something, but we don’t have to think about that right now.”

Earlier this month, Trump had threatened tough sanctions to pressure Putin to end the war in Ukraine, but he stepped back from that plan after Putin agreed to a face-to-face meeting.

President Donald Trump said Friday that in his talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin, both leaders agreed the Ukraine war would conclude through land swaps and some form of US security guarantee for Ukraine.

When asked by Fox News’ Sean Hannity about territorial concessions granting Russia land it previously did not control, along with potential US assurances for Kyiv, Trump confirmed it was a shared position.

“Well, I think those are points that we negotiated, and those are points that we largely have agreed on,” he said. “Actually, I think we agree on a lot. I can tell you, the meeting was a warm meeting.”

He described Putin as “a strong guy” and “tough as hell” but said the discussions were positive.

“I think we’re pretty close to the end. And look, Ukraine has to agree to it,” Trump said, adding this advice for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy: “Gotta make a deal.”

In an interview with Fox News, Donald Trump accused former US President Joe Biden of failing to prevent Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

“This war should have never happened. You know, a lot of wars should have never happened. Stupid things go down, and wrong people are talking,” Trump said.

US President Donald Trump said plans are underway for a meeting between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Russian President Vladimir Putin. While noting that “most issues have been agreed upon,” Trump said a few important points remain but can be resolved.

“It’s now up to President Zelenskyy to move it forward, and European nations need to get more involved,” he said. Trump added he might attend the meeting if invited, “not because I want to be there, but to help get it done.”

Donald Trump said Friday that the next steps in advancing the results of his Alaska summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin rest with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, in a bid to end Russia’s three-year invasion of Ukraine.

“Now it’s really up to President Zelensky to get it done. And I would also say the European nations, they have to get involved a little bit, but it’s up to President Zelensky,” Trump told Fox News after the summit. He rated the meeting “ten out of ten.”

Trump, after talks with Putin in Alaska Summit, said “We had a very good meeting today, but we’ll see. You have to get a deal. We agreed on a lot of points. I want to see people stop dying.”

Speaking with Fox News, Trump said he would give his summit with Putin “a 10.”

However, despite the fanfare, it remains unclear whether anything from the meeting could meaningfully change the course of the Ukraine war.

Ukrainian lawmaker Oleksiy Goncharenko said in a post on Telegram that Russian President Vladimir Putin had “bought some time” through his meeting with US President Donald Trump in Alaska.

“No ceasefire or de-escalation has been agreed,” Goncharenko said.

US President Donald Trump left Alaska on Air Force One at around 4:20 pm local time, heading back to Washington, DC, after his summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin ended without a clear breakthrough.

Trump spent roughly six hours on the ground in Anchorage during the visit.

Before departing Anchorage, Russian President Vladimir Putin visited the Fort Richardson Memorial Cemetery, where he laid flowers on the graves of Soviet soldiers. The visit followed his bilateral meeting with US President Donald Trump.

Kremlin-released footage showed Putin kneeling, placing a bouquet, and making the sign of the cross. The graves honor Soviet pilots and sailors who died transporting equipment from the US to the USSR during World War II. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov had earlier confirmed Putin’s plan to visit the memorial.

US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin held a joint press conference in Alaska on Friday during their high-stakes summit but did not take questions from reporters.

The briefing came after nearly three hours of discussions between the two leaders and their top aides, focused on the ongoing war in Ukraine, which began with Moscow’s 2022 invasion.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, speaking alongside US President Donald Trump, called on Ukraine and European nations not to block peace efforts.

“We expect Kyiv and European capitals to respond constructively and not try to derail the progress through provocations or behind-the-scenes moves,” Putin said as quoted by AFP.

As Trump thanked Putin for their time together, he expressed hope they would meet again soon.

Putin, switching to English and laughing, replied, “Next time in Moscow.”

Trump, however, seemed hesitant to commit. “That’s an interesting one. I don’t know, I’ll get a little heat on that one,” he said.

Before the Alaska Summit, US President Donald Trump said that Russia would face ‘severe consequences’ if Russian President Vladimir Putin did not agree to a ceasefire after the meeting.

However, after a 2.5-hour-long talk, the term ‘ceasefire’ was not mentioned by any of the leaders. This left many wondering if Trump would follow through with his severe economic sanctions warning.

US President Donald Trump gestures as he walks off stage following a press conference with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Reuters

US President Donald Trump’s former National Security Adviser John Bolton said that today it was clear who walked away victorious in today’s meeting between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Bolton’s remarks came after both sides abruptly ended the press conference after 2.5 hours of talks. “Trump did not lose, but Putin clearly won,” Bolton said, adding that “Trump didn’t come away with anything, except more meetings,” Bolton explained.

Putin, meanwhile, “has gone a long way to reestablishing the relationship, which I always believed was his key goal,” Bolton said.

“He escaped sanctions. He’s not facing a ceasefire. The next meeting is not set. (Ukrainian President Volodymyr) Zelensky was not told any of this before this press conference. It’s far from over, but I’d say Putin achieved most of what he wanted. Trump achieved very little,” Bolton said.

During his remarks at the press conference, Trump spoke specifically about the investigation into Russian election interference in connection with the 2016 US presidential election Interference which Trump has frequently rejected as a “hoax.”

“We were interfered with by the Russia, Russia, Russia hoax,” Trump said. “He knew it was a hoax, and I knew it was a hoax,” Trump added, referring to Putin.

“What was done was very criminal, but it made it harder for us to deal as a country in terms of the business and all of the things that we’d like to have dealt with, but we’ll have a good chance when this is over,” Trump said.

After their brief addresses, both Russian President Vladimir Putin and his American counterpart, Donald Trump, declined to take questions, reflecting that both sides want to keep the details private until they are shared with all parties.

Putin proposed that the next meeting should be held in Moscow, to which Trump responded that it might be hard to conduct one. Mind you, the term “ceasefire” was not used by both leaders.

After Putin, Trump addressed the media. He said he agreed with Putin’s sentiments that the meeting between the two leaders went well. However, he maintained that there are certain aspects where both leaders are still in disagreement.

Trump said that he will now speak to European leaders, NATO allies and especially Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to expect the outcome of the meeting.

During the press conference, Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed with Trump’s rhetoric as he said that “if President Trump was in power,” Russia-Ukraine war would not have happened in the first place.

Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks during a joint press conference with US President Donald Trump. AFP

Russian President Vladimir Putin is the first one to speak at the joint press conference in Alaska. Putin said the talks were constructive before moving on to discuss the former Russian control of Alaska, noting the hundreds of Russian names of towns and numerous Russian Orthodox churches in the state.

The Russian leader’s emphasis on the historical Russian “heritage” of the US state will not sit well with Ukraine, given Putin’s claim that the entire country, which was once part of the Russian empire, should be considered part of the “Russian world”.

“We have always considered the Ukrainian nation a brotherly nation”, Putin said

US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin are holding a news conference after meeting for high-stakes talks in Alaska.

It has been seven years since Russian President Vladimir Putin appeared alongside an American president to take questions. The last time the two leaders held a joint press conference was in Helsinki.

At that time, Trump sided with Russia over US intelligence agencies on the question of meddling in the 2016 US election. Interestingly, when then-President Joe Biden met Putin in Geneva in 2021, he elected not to appear with him afterwards for a press conference, opting to take questions alone. That was, in part, an effort to deny Putin a stage to spin their talks.

According to CNN, two lecterns were set for a press conference instead of one, indicating that the meeting between US President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, went well.

Earlier this week, Trump said he would downgrade his planned joint press conference to a solo appearance if he felt his talks with President Vladimir Putin went poorly.

The Kremlin has announced that US President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin will start a press conference soon, indicating that meeting between the two leaders has come to an end after roughly 2.5 hours.

US President Donald Trump shakes hands with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the tarmac after they arrived at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska, on August 15, 2025.- AFP

The Trump-Putin meeting has reached the 2.5-hour mark, according to White House aide Dan Scavino’s post on X, formerly known as Twitter.

At the press conference ahead of the meeting, Russian President Vladimir Putin ignored additional questions from reporters about a possible ceasefire deal with Ukraine and Russia killing Ukrainian civilians in the war.

Putin was asked if he would agree to a ceasefire, and he only raised his eyebrow, looked to the side and shook his head.

Pro-Ukrainian protesters are still waving war-torn country’s flag as they protest Putin’s arival and meeting with Trump in Anchorage, Alaska.

The bilateral meeting between Trump and Putin has been going on for over 90 minutes. A White House official told CNN that both the leaders haven’t called for lunch as of now.

It is pertinent to note that the White House had purposely avoided precise timing predictions for today’s summit, cognizant that any diversions would be interpreted as signs of success or failure. The Kremlin, however, said earlier that the meeting could last many hours.

Most of Trump and Putin’s telephone calls this year have lasted between an hour and 90 minutes. When tracking the two leaders’ conversations, it’s also important to account for translation time (though Putin speaks English, he usually conducts his meetings in Russian).

That Trump and Putin hadn’t moved on to their expanded bilateral luncheon after an hour and a half was also a sign that Trump, at least so far, has not felt compelled to “walk,” as he previously promised to do so.

While the meeting between US President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, is underway in Alaska, Ukraine’s Air Force is alerting the public about the threat of enemy aircraft and drones.

Between 3:11 and 3:12 p.m. ET (Local time) – as Trump and Putin posed for photos – it warned on its Telegram channel that Shahed drones had been spotted in the east of Dnipro, heading north, and that Russian aircraft were active in the northeast and southeast.

Meanwhile, in Russia, the defence ministry said that its air defences shot down four Ukrainian drones over the Rostov region from 10:55 pm (local time)

For the record, Russian President Vladimir Putin had a car to take him to the summit venue, but US President Donald Trump rode with him one-on-one in the presidential limousine, the “Beast.” Inside the car and on the tarmac, no official record will likely exist of their private conversation similar to 2017  when Trump reportedly took interpreters’ notes during a meeting.

The White House posted an image on X showing US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin seated side by side as their high-stakes meeting in Alaska began.

As the Alaska meeting between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin has started, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called on Moscow earlier to end the war it started.

The Ukrainian leader says that the duo’s meeting “is needed” – but reiterates Kyiv must also be included in negotiations to ensure “effective decisions” are made. Zelenskyy was not invited to participate in today’s meeting in Anchorage. “Security guarantees are needed. Lasting peace is needed,” he writes on X. “Everyone knows the key objectives. I want to thank everyone who is helping to achieve real results.”