Alaska Summit

Ava Cai

August 15, 2025

On Friday, U.S. President Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin met at a summit in Alaska. It was Putin’s first visit to the U.S. in ten years, and the two world leaders met in a state that was once part of Russia’s territory. The talks were originally intended to discuss and confirm a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy posted on X hours before the summit: “Ukraine is ready to work as productively as possible to bring the war to an end, and we count on a strong position from America…A meeting of leaders is needed - at the very least, Ukraine, America, and the Russian side.” Unfortunately, Ukraine was not represented at the summit, and the country's absence from the discussions prompted concerns that a deal might erode its sovereignty. However, President Trump promised to update the Ukrainian president and other NATO leaders following the talks to debrief. 

In conclusion to the news conference, President Putin noted that the event was a “starting point” for finding a resolution in the Russia-Ukraine War as well as bettering the relationship between Russia and the United States. Since the conflict started in early February 2022, there have been multiple attempts to end the war, none of which have been successful in ending the animosity between the two countries. During his presidential campaign, Trump had promised to end the Russia-Ukraine war within a day, but now he admits that doing so may be harder than he had initially imagined. 

After the meeting in Alaska, President Trump confirmed that although there were many things that were agreed upon, there are still “pretty significant items” on the table for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to discuss. In other words, although the conference was labeled productive by both parties, there is still a lot left to do in order to come to a proper resolution for the situation. 

One advancement made was that President Trump agreed to halt the implementation of tariffs on China for purchasing oil from Russia. Regarding the content of the meeting, the president confirmed, “Because of what happened today, I think I don’t have to think about that 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.”

As the conference came to a close, Trump thanked Putin for speaking with him. Putin smiled and responded in English: “Next time in Moscow.”