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SCMP Reporters

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US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin have failed to find a deal to end the Ukraine war, they said at the close of their summit at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Alaska on Friday
The summit, held on the outskirts of Anchorage, Alaska, was focused on the prospect of a ceasefire to end Russia’s devastating three-and-a-half-year war against Ukraine.
But Trump told the press on Friday that there would be ‘no deal until there’s a deal’.
Reporting by Khushboo Razdan in Anchorage, and Robert Delaney and Frank Chen in Washington


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Ukraine war

Ukraine war talks: Trump-Putin summit ends with no deal but US president hopeful – as it happened

US President Donald Trump and Russia’s President Vladimir Putin at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska, on Friday. Photo: EPA/POOL

US President Donald Trump and Russia’s President Vladimir Putin arrive for a joint press conference at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska, on Friday. Photo: AP

News

Diplomacy

World

Russia & Central Asia

Asia

Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin’s Alaska summit on a possible Ukraine ceasefire ended amicably but with no deal


Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin’s Alaska summit on a possible Ukraine ceasefire ended amicably but with no deal.


Donald Trump

Vladimir Putin

Volodymyr Zelensky

US-Russia relations

Russia

United States

Ukraine

Live

Putin is expected to land at approximately 11:00am Alaska Daylight Time. Trump will receive him on the tarmac, followed by an official arrival ceremony. Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, a combined US Air Force and Army installation, has been selected as the summit location because of heightened security requirements.
The one-on-one meeting between the two leaders will begin at 11:30am local time. Part of the bilateral meeting will take place in front of the cameras, and the two leaders may take questions from reporters. A joint press conference will be held at the conclusion of the summit.



Trump to give Putin the red-carpet treatment

Air Force One has landed at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage. Trump is in Alaska for high-stakes talks with Putin, which are expected to begin soon. The US president will greet his Russian counterpart on the tarmac.



Trump lands in Anchorage ahead of summit

The historic meeting is part of the diplomatic efforts to resolve the grinding Ukraine war, now in its fourth year with no end in sight.
Trump on Wednesday described the summit as “setting the table”, throwing in the idea that there could be a “second summit”, which may involve Zelensky. Trump added that a second summit may also happen if he does not get the answers “we have to have” from Putin.
On Thursday, Putin suggested that the US and Russia can reach a nuclear arms deal and Trump was making a “sincere effort” to achieve peace in Ukraine.


‘Setting the table’

In a Fox News interview aboard Air Force One en route to Alaska, Trump says he “would walk” if his meeting with Putin does not go as planned.
A clip of the interview, posted on social media by the White House, shows the US president saying: “We’re going for a meeting with President Putin in Alaska, and I think it’s going to work out very well – and if it does not, I’m going to head back home real fast.”


‘Back home real fast’: Trump tells Fox News

At least 16 events are planned across Alaska from Thursday to Saturday to protest the Trump-Putin meeting and show solidarity with Ukraine, with gatherings in cities like Anchorage, Fairbanks, Kodiak, Ketchikan and beyond.
On Friday morning, a group of protesters gather outside the Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, where the two leaders will be holding the talks.
McKenna Leguizamo, 29, call it “disgusting” that “we’re bringing a war criminal into our state”, referring to the ICC’s warrant against Putin.

She says that it feels like a “violation” given “how much” Ukrainian territory Russia has demanded to reach a ceasefire agreement.
“It would only be right if Zelensky was here. The fact that he is not here for the first one is mind-blowing,” she adds.
On Thursday, hundreds of protesters rallied in downtown Anchorage, waving Ukrainian flags. Since the war began in 2022, over 1,000 Ukrainians have settled in Alaska.



Protests planned across Alaska

Dicussions around securing a ceasefire will be on top of the agenda. Russia has demanded that Ukraine cede regions of Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson; abandon Nato membership ambitions; and cap its military strength – conditions Kyiv has fiercely opposed.
After his call with Trump and European leaders on Wednesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that security guarantees were discussed. Trump on Thursday said that he was confident that Putin would make a deal but was unsure if there will be an immediate ceasefire.
Just hours before the meeting, Trump put the odds of the summit failing to 25 per cent. Aboard Air Force One, he said Putin is “bringing a lot of business people from Russia, and that’s good”.
“I like that because they want to do business, but they’re not doing business until we get the war settled.” Trump told reporters that he believes “something” will come of today’s summit in Alaska.



Trump says ‘something’ will come of it

A closed-door working lunch will be part of the expanded bilateral talks between Trump and Putin. The defence and trade ministers of both countries will join the two leaders for the discussions.
This will be the first face-to-face meeting between the two leaders since Trump returned to office in January. Trump is planning to hold a press conference at the summit venue before flying back to Washington. Putin is expected to join.
According to Putin press secretary Dmitry Peskov, no documents are expected to be signed. “Nothing has been prepared,” he said on Thursday.


Joint press conference expected

Anchorage sits just 89 kilometres (55 miles) from Russia across the Bering Strait, making it a convenient hop for Putin’s delegation.
Its historical significance as a former Russian colony until 1867 adds symbolic weight. Alaska’s remote setting also allows a direct, intermediary-free summit, as Trump prefers.
Governor Mike Dunleavy calls Anchorage “the world’s most strategic location”.


‘World’s most strategic location’

Putin lands in Anchorage, Alaska.
This marks Putin’s first visit to US soil since the full-scale invasion began in 2022 and comes as the war nears its fourth year with no end in sight.



Putin touches down on US soil

Holding the Trump-Putin summit on US soil means Putin is safe from arrest under a 2023 International Criminal Court warrant issued after Russia invaded Ukraine.
The ICC issued its warrant in 2023 over accusations that Russia had abducted Ukrainian children. The court said when it issued the warrant and one for Russia’s commissioner for human rights, Maria Lvova-Belova, that they were “allegedly responsible for the war crime of unlawful deportation of population (children) and that of unlawful transfer of population (children) from occupied areas of Ukraine to the Russian Federation”.
Since the United States is not a member of the ICC, though, Putin is not risking arrest under the international court’s warrant.



Putin safe from ICC warrant

The talks between presidents Trump and Putin will take place in a three-on-three format, underscoring the gravity and sensitivity of the negotiations.

Joining Putin are Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and presidential aide Yuri Ushakov – two of Russia’s most seasoned power players.
Representing the US alongside Trump are Secretary of State Marco Rubio and special envoy Steve Witkoff.


Three-on-three format for Trump-Putin talks

Ahead of Trump’s much awaited meeting with Putin, his Vice-President J.D. Vance posts on social media that he was “praying for peace”.
“Grateful for President Trump’s leadership today as he travels to Alaska to meet with President Putin of Russia,” he says.
“Praying for peace in the days ahead,” he adds.


Vance is ‘praying for peace’

Trump and Putin share a cordial exchange on the tarmac ahead of the Alaska summit. Smiling, Putin approaches Trump, and the two leaders shake hands before engaging in a brief conversation.


Putin and Trump greet each other with a handshake

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov tells the Russian state news agency RIA that talks between Putin and Trump could last up to seven hours. The meeting is scheduled to begin at 11:30am local time.
However, according to the White House schedule, a press conference is planned after about four hours, and the US president is expected to depart for Washington shortly thereafter.


Kremlin: Trump-Putin talks could last 6-7 hours

During the photo opportunity, reporters direct questions at the two presidents. When asked about a possible end to the conflict in Ukraine, Putin gestures to indicate he cannot hear the question.



Putin dodges Ukraine question during joint photo op

After a short greeting on the tarmac, Putin and Trump are seen getting into the US president’s car together to begin their discussions.


Putin and Trump get into US leader’s car

“On the day of the negotiations, they also kill people. And that says a lot,” Zelensky says on Telegram.
On Friday, Russia launched a ballistic missile into Ukraine’s Dnipropetrovsk region, killing one person, wounding at least another, and sparking a fire, according to local officials.
“The war continues. It continues precisely because there is no order, nor any indication that Moscow is preparing to end this war,” Zelensky added.



Russia still ‘killing’: Zelensky

The meeting between Trump and Putin begins in a small-group format.
Representing Russia are Putin, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, and presidential aide Yuri Ushakov. On the American side, Trump is joined by Secretary of State Marco Rubio and special envoy Steve Witkoff.
Additional members of both delegations are expected to join the talks later.


Trump-Putin meeting begins with small group

As Trump meets with Putin, Zelensky fears a key outcome: that Ukraine could be pressured into making territorial concessions.
He remains adamant that Ukraine must be directly involved in any peace negotiations, and the Ukrainian constitution leaves no room for recognising Russia’s claims to its land.



Trump meets Putin: Kyiv’s greatest fear

Putin and Trump are seated together alongside their respective foreign ministers and top aides, facing the media ahead of today’s high-level discussions. The atmosphere in the room is calm but closely watched.



Putin and Trump sit down for talks

Security is extraordinarily tight: airspace over the Anchorage is closed on Friday and Saturday, and the US Secret Service will work closely with Russia’s Federal Protective Service to ensure the leaders’ safety.


Anchorage airspace closed

Long before it became America’s 49th state, Alaska was part of the Russian Empire. In 1867, the US purchased Alaska from Russia for US$7.2 million — a deal derided at the time as “Seward’s Folly”, after then-secretary of state William H. Seward, who brokered it.
Once seen as a barren wasteland, Alaska later proved to be a strategically vital and resource-rich acquisition.
Today, echoes of Alaska’s Russian heritage remain visible in its architecture, Orthodox churches, and indigenous communities shaped by centuries of cross-cultural contact.
Russia’s Big Diomede Island in only 3.9 kilometres (2.4 miles) away from Little Diomede Island, which is part of the US.


Alaska was part of Russian Empire until 1867

For a quick refresher on the key moments in Russia’s war against Ukraine, see our interactive timeline:






Key moments in Russia’s war against Ukraine

The last time Anchorage hosted a high-profile bilateral exchange was a tense US-China interaction in the middle of the Covid-19 pandemic.
“This is not a way of hospitality, nor does it conform to diplomatic etiquette. China has responded solemnly to this,” Beijing’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi told then-secretary of state Antony Blinken.
Read more about that meeting here.


Tense US-China meeting in Anchorage

A White House official is sharing a video of the American B-2 stealth bomber that flew over the Anchorage sky as Putin and Trump greeted each other on the tarmac.
The two leaders are now talking behind closed doors. They will have lunch together as part of the bilateral meeting, followed by a joint press conference.

B-2 Stealth Bomber flies over President @realDonaldTrump and President Putin pic.twitter.com/HaAqyHLftx
— Margo Martin (@MargoMartin47) August 15, 2025



B-2 bomber soars over Anchorage

As Trump and Putin sat down for their talks and the cameras started rolling, reporters urged the US president, usually chatty and eager to make opening remarks, to speak before the doors closed for their private meeting.
However, Trump remained silent and asked the media to leave, simply saying “thank you” as journalists shouted questions at the two leaders.
Earlier, speaking to the press, Trump said he would know in “two minutes” where the talks were heading regarding a possible ceasefire.



Trump remains silent as talks begin

Meetings between Putin and US presidents became much less frequent after Moscow’s annexation of Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula in 2014 and allegations of meddling with the 2016 US elections.
Putin and former US president George W. Bush met 28 times during Bush’s two terms, which stretched from 2001 to 2009. After his first meeting with Putin in 2001, Bush said he “looked the man in the eye” and “found him very straightforward and trustworthy”, adding that he got “a sense of his soul”.
Putin was the first world leader to call Bush after the 9/11 terrorist attack on the World Trade Centre and the Pentagon, offering his condolences and welcoming the US military deployment on the territory of Russia’s Central Asian allies for moves against Afghanistan.


Putin’s past meetings with US presidents

Former president Barack Obama met with Putin nine times, and held 12 more meetings with Dmitry Medvedev, who served as president for four years ending in 2012.
Putin became prime minister during Medvedev’s presidency, a move that allowed him to run for president again in 2012. Obama canceled a planned visit to Moscow in 2013 after Russia granted asylum to Edward Snowden, a former National Security Agency contractor and whistleblower.



Putin - Obama

Putin met Trump six times during the American president’s first term, mostly while they were attending G20 and APEC gatherings.
Their most newsworthy meeting took place in Helsinki in July 2018, when Trump appeared to accept Putin’s insistence that Moscow had not interfered with the 2016 US presidential election and openly questioned the finding by Washington’s intelligence agencies.



Putin - Trump 1.0

Putin and former US president Joe Biden met only once while Biden was in the Oval Office, in Geneva in June 2021.
At the time, Russia was amassing troops on the border with Ukraine, where large swaths of land in the country’s east – bordering Russia – had been held by Kremlin-backed forces.



Putin - Biden

A stage is now prepared for Putin and Trump to announce to the world what transpired in their meeting after they conclude their talks, and whether they reached an agreement on a Ukraine ceasefire.
Two podiums are set up at Anchorage’s Arctic Warrior Center with a banner behind them reading “Pursuing Peace”.
The local weather mirrors the weight of the moment.
Clouds rolled in over the mountains surrounding Anchorage, casting a sombre tone as Trump and Putin arrived at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson.


‘Pursuing peace’ under cloudy skies

Putin and Trump have been engaged in private talks for about an hour.
The lifting of US sanctions imposed in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is among Putin’s top priorities.
“They will definitely lift them off someone, that’s for sure,” Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said in response to a shouted question as the talks began, the Washington Post reported.
While the Kremlin previously indicated the meeting could last up to seven hours, the White House schedule shows Trump is set to depart Anchorage this evening.


One hour into Putin-Trump talks

In a sign of the close ties between Beijing and Moscow and as a reminder of that to Washington, Chinese President Xi Jinping held a phone call with Putin a week ago, just before Trump announced the Alaska summit.
Putin briefed Xi on the recent contacts he had had with Trump and assured Xi of “close communication” with China, state broadcaster CCTV reported.
CCTV also quoted Putin as reaffirming that the “comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination” between the two countries “would not change under any circumstances”.
Xi said he welcomed the bid to push towards a political solution to the Ukraine crisis.

Beijing and Moscow have stepped up ties in recent years as both faced tensions with the West. China is under pressure from the US and Europe as it has not publicly condemned Putin’s invasion of Ukraine and has been accused of fuelling the Russian war machine, since China’s trade and energy transactions are seen as a lifeline for the battered Russian economy.
The phone call followed Xi’s May trip to Moscow. In their face-to-face meetings there, Xi and Putin agreed to deepen strategic coordination and further promote ties.


Xi’s phone call with Putin

Putin is set to visit China beginning at the end of this month.
He will first attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in Tianjin from August 31 to September 1 and hold talks with Xi. Both leaders will attend WWII commemorations in Beijing on September 3, according to a Kremlin announcement in June.
Other recent high-level interactions between China and Russia also include Xi’s talk with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in July in Beijing.
In June, February, January and December, Xi and Putin also had at least four calls reported by state media on both sides, with their discussion spanning the Middle East, resolving the war in Ukraine as well as safeguarding what both called a “fair and just international order”.


Other recent Putin - Xi meetings

On Tuesday, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian told reporters that China supports all efforts conducive to a peaceful resolution of the “Ukrainian crisis”.
“[China] welcomes Russia and the United States maintaining engagement and promoting a political settlement … We hope all parties and stakeholders will participate in peace talks as soon as possible for a fair, long-lasting, binding agreement acceptable to all,” said Lin.

On China’s major online discussion platforms and news aggregators, such as Zhihu and Toutiao, posts analysing possible outcomes and implications for China are trending.
China’s state-owned newspaper, Global Times, quoted the official Chinese Academy of Social Sciences as saying that the meeting could merely be “symbolic”.
“The ‘certainty’ that the meeting can bring to the Russia-Ukraine issue is likely limited, and the meeting may be more symbolic than practical,” the newspaper quoted Zhang Hong, a CASS Russian studies expert, as saying.
“The Russia-Ukraine conflict is the product of strategic competition between Russia and the West, with complex historical context and current conflicts behind it. It cannot be resolved by a single meeting,” Zhang argued.
“While the US-Russia meeting provides a rare opportunity to break the stalemate, due to differences in values and geopolitical conflicts, achieving a comprehensive ceasefire in the short term remains difficult. But if Trump and Putin can agree on basic principles and a road map for a ceasefire, it may create some opportunities,” he added.


Chnese FM comment - Ukraine

Last week, Putin spoke with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, just days before Friday’s summit.
During the call, Putin updated Modi on Ukraine developments and his talks with US special envoy Steve Witkoff, who visited Moscow last week. Modi reiterated India’s call for a peaceful resolution to the Ukraine conflict and invited Putin to the 23rd India-Russia Summit later this year.
Earlier this month, Trump slapped additional 25 per cent tariffs on Indian imports for buying Russian oil despite his repeated warnings.
On Monday, Modi also spoke with Zelensky, reaffirming India’s commitment to peace in Ukraine and offered support for resolving the conflict.Zelenskyy highlighted recent Russian attacks, including a missile strike on a Zaporizhzhia bus station, and pressed India to curb Russian energy exports to undercut Moscow’s war machine.
They also discussed strengthening India-Ukraine ties and planned a meeting at the UN General Assembly in September.


Putin - Modi - Zelensky

An exclusive report by the Post revealed that in early July, Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi told European Union’s top diplomat, Kaja Kallas, that Beijing “does not want to see Russia lose its war in Ukraine”, owing to concern that US could shift its focus towards countering China.
However, Wang is said to have rejected the accusation that China was materially supporting Russia’s war effort, financially or militarily, insisting that if it was doing so, the conflict would have ended long ago.


China’s concern about war outcome

Ahead of the talks in Alaska, Zelensky met with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer in London on Thursday. The two leaders discussed security guarantees in “considerable detail”, Zelensky said in a social media post.



Zelensky - Starmer

The meeting between Putin and Trump has concluded after more than three hours of private talks. No official statements have been released yet regarding the outcome of the discussion. A joint press conference will be held shortly.


Putin and Trump conclude private talks over Ukraine peace

The three-on-three meeting between the two sides concludes, wrapping up sooner than expected. It remains unclear whether the scheduled delegation lunch took place. Reporters are now waiting for Trump and Putin to appear for a press briefing.

It is still uncertain whether Putin will take questions from the American media.


Putin-Trump meeting ends; press briefing shortly

Journalists at the summit site are asked to gather quickly for an upcoming press conference. It remains unclear how the talks between Presidents Putin and Trump unfolded.


Journalists asked to gather quickly

Trump and Putin are holding a joint press conference. Putin is speaking first. He says the negotiations were “constructive” and held in an atmosphere of “mutual respect”, adding that talks were “held in a constructive atmosphere of mutual respect” and that “our countries are close neighbours”.


Putin says talks ‘held in constructive atmosphere’

Putin shared that he greeted Trump as “dear neighbour” when the two leaders met on the tarmac this morning.
“We are close neighbours – it’s a fact,” he said.


‘Dear neighbour’: Putin recalls greeting to Trump

Putin says that the “security of Ukraine should be ensured as well”, citing that Ukraine and Russia have the “same roots”.
“I would like to hope that the agreement that we have reached together will help us bring closer that goal and will pave the path towards peace in Ukraine,” he adds.
Trump says he would call Nato and Ukraine’s president after the meeting.
“It’s ultimately up to them,” Trump notes.


Putin on Ukraine’s security; Trump to call Nato and Zelensky

Putin ends press conference by suggesting that his next meeting with Trump should be in Moscow.
“That’s an interesting one,” Trump responds. “I don’t know. I’ll get a little heat on that one, but I could see it possibly happening.”



Putin invites Trump to Moscow

The American president calls the meeting “extremely productive”, saying “we have a very good chance of getting there”. However, Trump and Putin are not taking questions from the press following their private talks.



‘Extremely productive’, but no questions taken

The closely watched summit between Trump and Putin concludes with both leaders describing the meeting as “constructive” and “productive”, although no concrete agreement on a ceasefire in Ukraine is announced. They do not take any questions from the media.
During the joint press conference, Trump acknowledges progress but emphasises that more work remains: “We are not there yet, but we are getting there.”
The talks lasted nearly three hours — shorter than expected — but the two leaders appear pleased.
Putin says he hopes “the agreement that we’ve reached together” would be perceived by Kyiv and European officials “constructively”, and that “they won’t throw a wrench in the works.”
He does not specify what the two had agreed upon.
Trump, on the other hand, defers to Zelensky and European leaders, saying he would be making “some calls”.
The summit ends with Trump telling Putin they would “probably” meet again soon, and the Russian leader suggesting that the next meeting could take place in Moscow.
