2025 Russia–United States summit
The 2025 Russia–United States Summit was a summit meeting between United States president Donald Trump and Russian president Vladimir Putin. It was held on August 15, 2025, at Joint Base Elmendorf–Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska. The main topic of discussion was the ongoing Russo-Ukrainian war. The summit ended without an agreement being announced, although Trump later intimated that in his view the onus was now on Ukraine to cede territory in order to end the war.
It was the first time Putin was invited to a Western country since he ordered the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Putin faces an arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court for alleged war crimes. It was also the first time that a Russian presidential visit to the United States has been held on a U.S. military property. It was the first meeting between Trump and Putin since Trump was reelected in 2024, the first between them as sitting presidents since their last meeting in 2019 in Osaka, their first summit since the 2018 Helsinki Summit, and the first meeting between presidents of both countries since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which occurred eight months after the 2021 Geneva Summit between Joe Biden and Putin. It was Putin's first visit to the United States since 2015 when he attended the 70th session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York City. It was also the first US-hosted meeting between the presidents of Russia and the United States since 2007, when Putin met with George W. Bush in Maine.
Background
In February 2022, Putin ordered the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, starting the deadliest war in Europe since World War II. During the 2024 presidential election, then-presidential candidate Donald Trump campaigned with a promise to end the war on his first day in office. Trump became president in January 2025. On February 12, 2025, he held a surprise phone call with Putin which led to negotiations between Russia and the U.S. for the first time since the invasion.Later that month, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Saudi Arabia to discuss improving Russia–United States relations and plans to end the war in Ukraine. The meeting laid the groundwork for a future meeting between Putin and Trump, with Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov saying the meeting could take place before the end of February, though this did not end up happening. Over the following months, Trump continued to communicate with Putin through phone calls and Truth Social posts.
Trump repeatedly threatened to impose further sanctions on Russia if it did not stop attacking Ukraine. Putin repeatedly ignored the warnings, and Trump did not follow through on them.
On May 8, Trump warned that the U.S. would impose further sanctions on Russia if it did not agree to a 30-day unconditional ceasefire. Russia rejected the ceasefire and continued to attack Ukraine.
Presidents Putin of Russia and Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine were due to hold direct negotiations in Istanbul on May 15, and Trump suggested he would also be there. However, Putin did not attend. Trump excused Putin's absence, saying he believes the only reason Putin did not attend was because he was not there, and said peace talks are only possible if he and Putin meet.
On May 28, Trump said he would know within two weeks whether Putin was serious about ending the war or was just "tapping us along". In May, June and July, Russian missile and drone attacks on Ukraine increased dramatically. Trump told reporters on July 23: "I go home, I tell the first lady: 'You know, I spoke to Vladimir today. We had a wonderful conversation.' And she said: 'Oh really? Another city was just hit. After Trump warned of sanctions and criticized Putin on Truth Social, the Kremlin described his posts as "emotional".
On July 14, Trump announced that the U.S. would impose more sanctions on Russia and 100% tariffs on countries that buy Russian oil if Putin did not agree to end the war within 50 days. On July 28, Trump announced that the deadline would be shortened to 10 or 12 days, citing a lack of progress. U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff met with Putin in Moscow on August 6, two days before the deadline. Following the meeting, Trump said there was a "good chance" that a meeting with Putin would take place "very soon." When Trump's deadline arrived on August 8, instead of imposing sanctions, Trump announced that he would host Putin in Alaska on August 15.
Shortly before the Alaska meeting, Trump warned that there would be "severe consequences" for Russia if Putin did not agree to a ceasefire.
Military situation in Ukraine
Since September 2022, Russia has claimed four oblasts of Ukraine, as well as Crimea since 2014. Prior to the summit, it controlled 88% of the Donbas region, and 74% of the region comprising the Zaporizhzhia and Kherson Oblasts, as well as small pockets of other regions. Prior to the summit, Russia made small gains in its Pokrovsk offensive in the Donbas region.Nuclear tensions
On July 31, 2025, former Russian President and Deputy Chairman of the Security Council of Russia Dmitry Medvedev made a Telegram post warning President Trump of a "Dead Hand" threat, referencing the Soviet automatic nuclear launch mechanism. On August 1, President Trump announced the movement of two "Nuclear Submarines" toward Russia in response to the threat.On August 4, 2025, Russia announced it "no longer considers itself bound" by the 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, which the US withdrew from in 2019. The following day, a Boeing WC-135R Constant Phoenix "nuke sniffer" aircraft flew near the Kola Peninsula. Analysts said the flight could indicate an upcoming test of the 9M730 Burevestnik nuclear-powered nuclear-capable cruise missile, previously tested in Arkhangelsk Oblast.
Pre-meeting
President Trump had said on August 7, 2025, that it was not necessary for Putin to meet with Volodymyr Zelenskyy, president of Ukraine. He also said that both sides would have to make concessions. A Kremlin source stated that Russia could halt the war if it received territorial concessions in eastern Ukraine.On August 8, President Trump announced on Truth Social that he was planning to meet with Putin in Alaska. Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov later confirmed the talks, musing that Alaska was "quite logical" for a venue. Alaska may have been chosen for its location between both capitals, lack of US participation in the Rome Statute to carry out the International Criminal Court arrest warrant for Putin, as well as for its historical significance, including former Russian colonization, modern Russian Orthodox communities, and Cold War military usage.
On August 14, Ushakov announced that on the Russian side, the delegation will include himself, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, Defence Minister Andrey Belousov, Finance Minister Anton Siluanov, and Special Presidential Envoy on Foreign Investment and Economic Cooperation Kirill Dmitriev.
Ahead of the summit Putin suggested negotiations could cover nuclear weapons treaties, such as the renewal of New START which expires in February 2026.
Several hundred people held a pro-Ukraine rally. Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov notably arrived at his hotel wearing a white СССР sweatshirt underneath his cold weather vest; the move was described by The Guardian as a "not-so-subtle act of trolling".
Trump–Putin meeting
Arrival
in Anchorage, Alaska, was the location of the summit that was held on August 15, 2025. An L-shaped red carpet was laid out for the leaders to walk down to a platform that was labeled "ALASKA 2025" with four F-22 Raptor fighter jets lined up alongside it. President Trump touched down at Joint Base Elmendorf at 10:22 a.m. AKDT Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt announced upon landing that the meeting would no longer be one-on-one between Trump-Putin but that it would be three-on-three with Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Special Envoy Steve Witkoff joining President Trump and Foreign Policy Aide Yury Ushakov and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov joining President Putin.President Putin landed at the Air Base at 10:55 a.m. local time. Both men exited their planes at approximately 11:08 a.m., shook hands on the red carpet and posed on the ALASKA 2025 platform for a picture before shaking hands again and entering the presidential state car for transport to the meeting location. As the two stood on the platform, United States Air Force F-22 fighters or F-35 fighters and a B-2 bombers flew overhead. Russia 24 reported that President Trump invited Putin to join him in the car, with Putin eschewing his planned Aurus limo.
Meeting
The meeting began at approximately 11:32 a.m. and concluded at approximately 2:18 p.m. A press briefing by the two leaders began at approximately 2:58.During the meeting Putin went on a history lecture about Ukraine and Russia being "one nation," which caused Trump to raise his voice and threaten to walk out. Trump later proposed lifting sanctions against Russia for a ceasefire, but this was rejected by Putin, who insisted on Ukraine ceding territory in the Donbas region. Trump cancelled the working lunch, during which the delegations were supposed to discuss economic cooperation. The Financial Times reported that Putin lectured Trump on medieval and early modern Eastern European history, talking about the Viking chieftain Rurik, Grand Prince Yaroslav the Wise and Cossack leader Bohdan Khmelnytsky.
Trump gave a ceremonial gift to Putin of an "American Bald Eagle Desk Statue".