Trump and Putin wrap up press conference in Alaska with no mention of ceasefire

We are closing down our live coverage now of the historic Alaska summit on Friday between US President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin.

Stay with us as we and our colleagues bring you more information, reactions and analysis on the crucial meeting between the two leaders and its results. Good night!

The Alaska meeting might have ended on a high note in terms of Trump-Putin relations, at least following their statements, but the next hours might bring further clarity on what was discussed once the two entered Trump's limousine, the Beast, and were whisked off to their meeting.

While there was no clear step forward from Putin, the world did hear him speak English, inviting Trump to Moscow next, much to Trump’s surprise -- which might prove to be the highlight of what is apparently just a first round of talks between the two.

Meanwhile, the Russian president, who launched Moscow's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in early 2022, repeated the Kremlin's narrative about “eliminating all the primary causes”, the “fundamental threats to Russia’s security” and called on Trump to “move on from confrontation”.

While it is unclear what Putin meant by "eliminate," the term is indeed ominous for any prospect of ending the bloodshed in Ukraine.

Putin went on to warn the leadership in Kyiv and the EU capitals not to “throw a wrench” and “not to torpedo” the talks, singling them out as the obstacle to ending the war with “backroom deals”.

He also laid blame on previous US administrations, stating “it was a big mistake to pass the point of no return”.

Putin labelled the war an “issue” and then “conflict”, but also “a wound” because, according to him, Ukrainians are “brotherly” in the eyes of Russians.

“Of course that Ukraine’s security must be secured,” he said, which might signify the US side raised the security guarantees during the Friday meeting.

Meanwhile, Trump chose to stay vague, offering no substance while hinting at a big surprise. “Many points were agreed to, some are left for next time, but one is a most significant - we didn’t get there, but we have a good chance to get there," the US president said.

The following hours may reveal which point that is, as Trump announced he would now call the Ukrainian and NATO leaders to discuss the summit with Putin. He might also tells more to the press and in his regular posts on his Truth Social platform.

Trump mentioned “President Zelenskyy” by name in his statement alongside NATO, which could signal his support and indicate that he views the Ukrainian president and alliance leaders as crucial to any progress, suggesting that cooperation is already in place and that he is not acting alone. This in itself must have been a clear message to Putin, too.

It remains significant that he mentioned “tremendous Russian business representatives,” which may allude to economic deals discussed and pursued on Friday.

He did come off as hopeful of progress in the talks, highlighting what he said was “a tremendous relationship with Vladimir."

For Ukraine and Europe, however, the US-Russia meeting felt like a get-together of long-lost friends and partners, and its leaders will now explore the next steps based on the new reality of the Alaska handshake, as Moscow's all-out war continues.

The US did attempt to convey the message in the last few days that this first meeting may not yield major breakthroughs.

However, seeing both presidents at the podium and Trump’s vocal point about not striking a deal without involving president Zelenskky and the NATO leaders could tip the balance of the glass-half-empty- glass-half-full towards a possible positive or at least a step forward.

Trump opened his statement by saying Putin’s words were “very profound”.

The US president then said he will call up NATO allies and Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy to inform them about the latest, but then quickly shifted to his meeting with “tremendous Russian business representatives.”

The US became the “hottest country in the world in a short period of time,” and he “always had a fantastic relationship with President Putin, with Vladimir,” Trump said.

Although Trump was unclear about the talks, especially in terms of a possible ceasefire, he said the meeting was “extremely productive” despite what appears to be a no-deal.

“We have a very good chance of getting there — we didn’t get there,” Trump added.

“We’ll see you very soon … Vladimir,” the US president concluded, to which Putin added in English, “Very soon in Moscow”.

Again, there was no clarity from Trump’s words on what was agreed upon during their three-hour meeting, if anything at all.

Following the meeting with Donald Trump, the Russian president called Ukraine a “brotherly nation” as the air raid alert sounded in central and eastern Ukraine over the threat of ballistic Russian missiles being launched. 

“For us, Ukrainians are a brotherly nation. And everything that is happening is a tragedy, and it hurts us.” Putin said, referring to his all-out war against Ukraine. 

Putin then continued with his traditional rhetoric about what Moscow calls “root causes” of his invasion. There are the false arguments Putin used repeatedly, including to justify his decision to fully invade Ukraine in February 2022. 

Notably, Putin said, “Ukraine's security must certainly be ensured, and we are ready to work on it”, without providing more details and information on what he meant. 

“Moscow expects that European capitals will not put obstacles in the way or try to derail the progress that is being made,” Putin added. 

The leaders of the US and Russia were all smiles as they entered the rather small press room in Anchorage on Friday, following the first part of their summit, which lasted somewhat over three hours.

Russian President Vladimir Putin is speaking first, with a banner saying "Pursuing peace" behind him and his US counterpart Donald Trump.

We will bring you their statements shortly.

Talks to end the war in Ukraine between US President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in Alaska have ended, the Kremlin has said.

The summit, which Trump billed as ‘high stakes, stretched into a third hour on Friday, as the two leaders discussed ways to bring Europe’s deadliest conflict in 80 years to a close. 

The first part of the talks was in a "three-on-three" format and included Trump, Marco Rubio and Steve Witkoff on the US side and Putin, Sergei Lavrov and Yuri Ushakov representing Russia.

In what is a clear power move, Donald Trump greeted Vladimir Putin at the US air base in Alaska with a flyover of the B-2 stealth bombers. 

According to two officials, they were flown into the base ahead of Friday's summit. 

The stealth B-2 bombers are the same type used by the US during June's operation “Midnight Hammer” against nuclear facilities in Iran. Seven aircraft flew 36 hours straight from Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri to Iran, where they dropped more than a dozen bunker-buster bombs at Tehran's nuclear sites.

Moscow “strongly condemned” the US operation, calling the attacks “irresponsible” and a “gross violation of international law.”

Bogged down in Ukraine, Russia did not come to support one of its closest allies and was unwilling or unable to offer anything more substantial than diplomatic gestures.

Iran was among the first to strengthen its ties with the Kremlin since Russia started its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Tehran delivered thousands of Shahed attack drones to Russia and then shared the relevant technological blueprints, enabling Moscow to establish domestic production lines of its own, rebranded in Russia as Geran-2.

The Geran-2 drones are now being made at Russian facilities in rapidly increasing quantities and are playing a key role in the Kremlin’s campaign of airstrikes against Ukrainian cities, infrastructure sites and civilians. 

Ahead of the meeting, Donald Trump predicted he would know “within the first two minutes, three minutes, four or five minutes” whether his talks with Putin would be a “good meeting or a bad meeting.”

Trump hasn’t walked out of the talks, presumably indicating negotiations are going well. 

“If it’s a bad meeting, it’ll end very quickly, and if it’s a good meeting, we’re going to end up getting peace in the pretty near future,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Thursday.

The White House avoided precise timing predictions for the summit, but the Kremlin said earlier the meeting could last many hours.

The Kremlin’s spokesperson said talks could last “at least 6 to 7 hours”. 

Many Ukrainians are watching the scenes from Alaska in outrage and disbelief, witnessing the cordial meeting between the presidents of the US and Russia. 

The main comparison is to Donald Trump’s meeting with Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the White House in February 2025, when the Ukrainian president was accused of not being grateful enough and mocked for "not wearing a suit" by Trump and the members of the US administration. 

A photo is going viral across Ukrainian social media showing US soldiers arranging the red carpet at the steps of the plane of Vladimir Putin, who has an arrest warrant issued against him by the International Criminal Court for the forceful deportation of tens of thousands of Ukrainian children. 

Washington is not a signatory to the ICC's Rome Statute and is therefore under no obligation to detain the Russian leader on US soil. 

Hundred of journalists have travelled to Alaska to cover the historic meeting between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin.

The summit is also taking place at the height of Alaska's tourist season, making accommodation and transportation especially scarce.

According to local media most major downtown hotels said on Thursday that they were already at full capacity and were not hosting dignitaries for the summit.

Oskar Górzyński, who is on the ground in Anchorage, showed an improvised media centre at the US military Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, alleging that no journalists from Ukrainian media had the necessary credentials to access the base. 

That’s because the former secretary of state said she’d nominate Trump for a Nobel Peace Prize herself if he negotiates an end to Russia’s war on Ukraine without Ukraine having to give up territory.

“Well, that was very nice,” Trump said when asked about Clinton’s comment during an in-flight interview with Fox News Channel.

“I may have to start liking her again.”

Trump and Clinton were presidential rivals in 2016 and have had a contentious relationship. Trump has also been angling to be awarded the prestigious peace prize.

The Kremlin shared two clips of Putin and Trump smiling and talking before the two leaders began their sit-down meeting in Alaska, alongside Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Putin’s foreign affairs adviser Yuri Ushakov.

Russian media outlets also shared images that appeared to show a bemused Putin raising his eyebrows in response to shouted questions from assembled reporters.

At one point, Putin cupped his hands around his mouth and appeared to say something, although his voice could not be heard.

As the two presidents walked the red carpet at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Alaska, one of many journalists assembled could be heard asking the Russian leader, “President Putin, will you stop killing civilians?”

Putin did not answer the question and instead gestured towards his ear, apparently to suggest he couldn't hear, and shrugged his shoulders.

Putin is not accustomed to taking off the cuff questions from foreign journalists. His press conferences are usually highly choreographed with questions prepared and agreed in advance by the Kremlin press service.

The only opportunity foreign journalists get to ask him anything spontaneous is during his annual hours-long press conferences, where priority is given to reporters from Russian state-controlled media. 

A carefully choreographed arrival culminating in a handshake set the stage for the historic summit and the Russian president's return to the global stage since 2022.

Both leaders and their teams, being fully aware that the eyes of the world are on them, went for a warm handshake, as we just witnessed.

The few moments of the encounter televised so far might prove to show that Putin opened the playing field to Trump with his posture, adapting to Trump’s imposing personality: welcoming him with a clap, a pat on the shoulder by Trump, Putin warmly leaning towards him with a few words, letting Trump control the moment as a host.

The summit also offers the world a first or rare glimpse at the Russian president through cameras not controlled by the Kremlin.

In the handful of images released so far, Putin seemed largely uncomfortable -- not too surprising, as the US is less familiar turf to him, and he has become the world's pariah since his last visit almost an entire decade ago.

Interviewed by Bret Baier of Fox News Channel aboard Air Force One as he flew into Alaska, Trump said he’d like to walk away from the meeting with a ceasefire.

He also said he’d like a second meeting on Russia’s war in Ukraine.

“I wouldn’t be thrilled if I didn’t get it,” Trump said, speaking about a suspension of hostilities between the countries.

He said everyone tells him he won’t get a ceasefire until a second meeting.

“So, we’ll see what happens. I’m going to be, I won’t be happy if I walk away without some form of a ceasefire,” he said.

The motorcade carrying Trump and Putin has made the short drive to a building on Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson just outside Anchorage where talks have started and a news conference is due to be held later.

The two leaders were seated in a room with their aides in front of a blue backdrop that had the words “Pursuing Peace” printed on it.

Trump and Putin were seated in the middle of the chair arranged in a horseshoe, with a small table between them with drinking glasses and paper.

They didn’t take any questions but Trump said, “Thank you” to reporters who were briefly in the room.

President Donald Trump has greeted Russian leader Vladimir Putin at an air base in Alaska as a squadron of US stealth military planes designed during the Cold War flew overhead.

As Trump and Putin shook hands at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson outside Anchorage, F-22s and B2 bombers soared above.

Neither plane entered active service until after the Cold War had ended but their design and development began during the 1970s and 1980s when US-Soviet rivalry was at its height.

The presence of the planes during the red carpet welcome afforded to Putin by summit host Trump may have been intended to remind the Russian leader of US military might as the pair head in to talks focused on Russia’s war with Ukraine.

Russian state news agencies RIA Novosti and Tass report that a motorcade with top Russian officials who are part of the delegation has departed to the summit venue.

Putin’s foreign affairs adviser Yuri Ushakov said earlier that those joining the Russian president in Alaska will include himself, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, Defense Minister Andrei Belousov, Finance Minister Anton Siluanov, Putin’s envoy for investment and economic cooperation Kirill Dmitriev.

Russia’s President Vladimir Putin has also just arrived in Alaska for crucial talks with Trump on ending the war in Ukraine.

The two presidents will now travel to the Elmendorf Air Force Base in Anchorage where talks are expected to start almost immediately.

The Russian president hasn’t been to the United States since a 2015 meeting at the UN General Assembly in New York.



White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters aboard Air Force One that Trump won’t be meeting Putin alone, as she had previewed earlier in the week, but instead will be joined the Secretary of State Marco Rubio and his special envoy Steve Witkoff.

Leavitt said it would be a three-on-three meeting instead of a one-on-one.

His planned lunch meeting with Putin is also expected to include Rubio and Witkoff, along with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth and White House chief of staff Susie Wiles.

You can see live pictures of Trump leaving Air Force One ahead of that crucial summit with Vladimir Putin on the link below.

US President Donald Trump has arrived in Alaska for a high stakes summit with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin about ending the war in Ukraine.

Putin is expected to land a little later, closer to 9 pm CEST.

Trump is expected to greet Putin at the airfield when his plane lands.

The two presidents will then travel to the Elmendorf Air Force Base in Anchorage where talks are expected to start at around 11 am local time (9 pm CEST).

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has spoken about the Alaska summit in his nightly video address. He said he was receiving intelligence reports about the final preparations and about what Russian President Vladimir Putin was expected to bring to the negotiating table. He also gave a brief roundup of the latest Russian strikes on Ukraine.

"Sumy – a Russian strike on the central market. Dnipro region – strikes on cities and enterprises. Zaporizhzhia, Kherson region, Donetsk region – deliberate Russian strikes. The war continues and it is precisely because there is neither an order nor even a signal that Moscow is preparing to end this war.

On the day of negotiations, they are killing as well. And that speaks volumes. Recently, we’ve discussed with the US and Europeans what can truly work. Everyone needs a just end to the war.

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. Everything will depend on this – the Russians factor in American strength. Make no mistake – strength."

US President Donald Trump has taken questions from reporters on board Air Force One en route to the summit in Alaska with Vladimir Putin.

When asked what would make a success of the summit, Trump said "I can't tell you that. I don't know."

"I want certain things. I want to see a ceasefire. This is nothing to do with Europe. Europe's not telling me what to do," Trump said.

You can watch the full video below.

In a clip from an interview aboard Air Force One with Fox News Channel’s Bret Baier posted on X, Trump predicted that his meeting with the Russian president would “work out very well and if it doesn’t, I’m going to head back home real fast.”

“I would walk, yeah,” he added, after a follow up question from Baier.

On social media on Friday afternoon, Trump posted a video clip from a gathering of journalists also aboard the presidential plane, in which he was asked what would make the summit a success.

“I want to see a ceasefire rapidly. I don’t know if it’s going to be today but I’m not going to be happy if it’s not today,” Trump told reporters, as he stood in an aisle of the plane.

“I’m in this to stop the killing.”

General Alexus Grynkewich, NATO’s Supreme Allied Commander Europe is in Alaska to provide “military advice” to President Trump and Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, a senior NATO military official told the AP news agency, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to speak publicly.

“General Grynkewich, as the commander of both NATO and US forces in Europe, is in Alaska to provide military advice to President Trump and Secretary Hegseth as President Trump tries to bring this war to a peaceful close,” the official said.

Grynkewich is a supporter of Ukraine and views Russia as a clear threat to European security.

He has previously spoken of the need to get military aid into Kyiv quickly, including after President Trump said in July that NATO would be coordinating deliveries of US weapons.

Grynkewich’s presence in Alaska is likely to be welcomed by European leaders who have spent recent days trying to convince President Trump to be robust with President Putin and not to do a deal over Kyiv’s head.

A possible deal to end Russia’s war against Ukraine will include “land swapping” from both sides, US President Donald Trump said, which in reality means territorial concessions for Ukraine. 

Ukrainian forces do not occupy any of Russia’s territory, meaning there could be no deal regarding returning Moscow its land.

All of the land in question is the territory Russia has occupied in Ukraine since the first invasion in 2014 followed by Moscow’s all-out war in 2022. 

If Trump pressures Ukraine to relinquish its territory, he would not be convincing Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Instead, he will have to persuade the people of Ukraine.

Sasha Vakulina explains all about this in the article below.

Pushing Kyiv to give up land ‘will force Ukrainians to the streets’

The US president said that a possible deal to end Russia’s war against Ukraine would include certain “land swapping”. But for the Ukrainian society, this……

Protesters in Anchorage opposed US President Donald Trump meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin without the participation of Ukraine’s leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

You can watch the video below.

Video. Protesters rally over Zelenskyy’s exclusion from Trump–Putin summit

Video. Protesters in Anchorage, Alaska, opposed US President Donald Trump meeting Russian President Vladimir Putin without Ukrainian President Volodymyr……

Hours before departing for his meeting with Vladimir Putin, US President Donald Trump said he expected the summit to be a "good meeting" but added that it would not be the most crucial round of peace talks.

"The second meeting will be more important," Trump said, adding that he expects it to include Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and "possibly someone from Europe," in addition to Trump and Putin. 

Trump previously said that he would want the second meeting to take place as soon as possible after the Alaska summit.

Sasha Vakulina has all the details in the article below.

Trump: Zelenskyy and European leaders to meet with Putin after Alaska

US President Donald Trump said he expects his meeting with Vladimir Putin to go well, but added that what will be even more important is the second meeting……

A three-way meeting between Ukraine, the US and Russia could be possible if the Alaska talks between Trump and Putin are productive, Russia's Interfax news agency, quoting Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov, reports.

Peskov said that the Trump-Putin summit could last up to seven hours and their aides will be present for the one-to-one meeting, Russian state media reported.

The president posted on his social media network that he had “a wonderful talk” with the president of Belarus, Aliaksandr Lukashenka.

He said their “good” conversation included a discussion about Putin’s visit to Alaska.

Trump said they also spoke about the release of some prisoners earlier this year and the future release of prisoners. He did not offer details.

“I had a wonderful talk with the highly respected President of Belarus, Aleksandr Lukashenko. The purpose of the call was to thank him for the release of 16 prisoners,” Trump said in his post.

“I look forward to meeting President Lukashenko in the future.”

“If Donald Trump negotiates an end to Putin’s war on Ukraine without Ukraine having to cede territory, I’ll nominate him for a Nobel Peace Prize myself,” the former US secretary of state wrote in a post on X.

Trump has already said he believes a peace deal would likely require the swapping of Ukrainian territories by both sides.

Clinton, Trump’s 2016 Democratic opponent, linked to her appearance on the “Raging Moderates” podcast, where she offered Trump some advice: “He is not meeting with a friend. He is meeting with an adversary.”

But Clinton said that if Trump can negotiate a ceasefire, have Russia withdraw from the territory it seized and bring an end to the war without making Ukraine concede territory, she would join the Nobel lobbying.

Trump and his allies have been lobbying for years for him to get the prize.

On his way to Alaska Friday, the US president is accompanied by a group of officials mostly consisting of experts on business and trade, with no apparent specialists on Ukraine.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Secretary of State Marco Rubio are among those joining Trump for his flight to Alaska.

Trump will also be accompanied on Air Force One by CIA Director John Ratcliffe and top White House aides, including Chief of Staff Susie Wiles.

Notably, Ratcliffe served as director of National Intelligence during Trump's first term, and was one of the most prominent critics of claims that the Kremlin conducted a malign influence campaign during the 2016 US presidential election, when Trump narrowly beat Hilary Clinton to the seat in the Oval Office.

Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff and Monica Crowley, a former Fox News commentator serving as Trump’s chief of protocol, also are making the trip.

As we've been reporting, US President Donald Trump is currently en route to Alaska with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin expected to land at around 9 pm CEST.

But what do we know about the rest of the day's schedule?

Sasha Vakulina has this explainer which you can read below:

Trump-Putin Alaska summit: What we know about the upcoming meeting

The Kremlin released the detailed agenda for Vladimir Putin’s Friday meeting with Donald Trump as the US president is expected to push the Russian leader……

Even on the eve of the Trump-Putin summit, there was no let-up in Russian attacks on Ukraine.

At least seven civilians were killed and 17 others injured in overnight strikes into Friday morning.

Russia launched nearly 100 drones and missiles at targets in Ukraine, with air defences intercepting 63 of the drones, according to Ukraine's Air Force.

Russia has been targeting Ukrainian cities in daily aerial attacks, which have intensified significantly over the past months.

At least seven civilians killed in Russian attacks across Ukraine

The strikes, which damaged homes and a school, come ahead of a high-stakes peace summit between Presidents Trump and Putin.…

Trump said Russian drone attacks on civilian areas of Ukraine are a misguided effort to improve Putin’s negotiating position.

“Maybe it’s a part of the world. Maybe it’s just his fabric, his genes, his genetics,” Trump told reporters traveling with him to the Alaska summit.

“But he thinks that gives him strength in negotiating. I think it hurts him, but I’ll be talking to him about it later.”

Trump also talked on Air Force One about economic benefits for Russia, while warning of more severe sanctions if the talks aren’t fruitful.

“I noticed he’s bringing a lot of business people from Russia, and that’s good,” Trump said. “I like that because they want to do business, but they’re not doing business until we get to war settled.”

As Trump remains en route and Putin is expected in Alaska later today, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who was not invited to the meeting, said "we are counting on America" ahead of the Alaska summit.

Zelenskyy, however, expressed his hope that Ukraine will have a seat at the table at the next meeting.

The summit on Friday "should open up a real path toward a just peace and a substantive discussion between leaders in a trilateral format -- Ukraine, the United States and the Russian side," Zelenskyy said in a statement on X.

It is "indeed, high stakes," he reiterated. "It is time to end the war, and the necessary steps must be taken by Russia."

Trump says there’s “a possibility” of the United States offering Ukraine security guarantees alongside European powers, “but not in the form of NATO.”

Trump was speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One on his way to the Alaska summit.

He said it will be up to the Ukrainians to decide whether to concede land to Putin as part of a peace deal, but added: “I think they’ll make the proper decision.”

“I’m not here to negotiate for Ukraine,” Trump said. “I’m here to get them at a table.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin is expected to arrive in Anchorage at 11 am local time (9 pm CEST), Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told state television.

Peskov said Trump will be at the airfield and meet Putin on the steps of his plane as he disembarks.

US President Donald Trump is en route to Alaska for that meeting with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin.

In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump said only “HIGH STAKES!!!” prior to departing from Joint Base Andrews in Maryland aboard Air Force One.

During the flight, Trump was asked by reporters to expand on his comments from earlier this week when he said Russia would face "very severe consequences" if the war didn’t end.

"Economically severe, yes. It will be very severe," Trump said.

"I'm not doing this for my health. I don't need it. I'd like to focus on our country,” he said.

"But I'm doing this to save a lot of lives.”

The countdown is on for the much-anticipated one-on-one meeting between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin in Alaska.

But with so much at stake, it will inevitably be a concern for Kyiv that both Washington and Moscow have been sending conflicting messages about what their main goals and expectations for the summit are. 

Will Trump be able to bring about an end to Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine? And will Putin be prepared to shift from his territorial demands to strike a peace deal?

You can read Sasha Vakulina's preview article below:

Trump-Putin summit in Alaska: One meeting, different goals

Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin might be chasing different outcomes from the much anticipated Alaska summit on Friday. While the US president believes……