TheJakartaPost

Please Update your browser

Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.

Jakarta Post

Trump-Putin summit yields no deal on ending war in Ukraine

The talks did not initially appear to have produced meaningful steps toward a ceasefire in the deadliest conflict in Europe in 80 years, or toward a subsequent meeting between Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, both goals Trump had set ahead of the summit.

Steve Holland, Andrew Osborn and Darya Korsunskaya (Reuters)
Anchorage, United States
Sat, August 16, 2025 Published on Aug. 16, 2025 Published on 2025-08-16T08:10:41+07:00

Change text size

Gift Premium Articles
to Anyone

Share the best of The Jakarta Post with friends, family, or colleagues. As a subscriber, you can gift 3 to 5 articles each month that anyone can read—no subscription needed!
United States President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin hold a press conference following their meeting to negotiate an end to the war in Ukraine at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska, the US, on Aug. 15, 2025. United States President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin hold a press conference following their meeting to negotiate an end to the war in Ukraine at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska, the US, on Aug. 15, 2025. (Reuters/Kevin Lamarque)

A

highly anticipated summit between United States President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday yielded no agreement to resolve or pause Moscow's war in Ukraine, despite both leaders describing the talks in Alaska as productive.

During a brief appearance before the media following the nearly three-hour talks, the two leaders said they had made progress on unspecified issues. But they offered no details and took no questions, with the normally loquacious Trump ignoring shouted questions from reporters.

"There were many, many points that we agreed on. I would say a couple of big ones that we haven't quite got there, but we've made some headway," Trump said, standing in front of a backdrop that read "Pursuing Peace."

"There's no deal until there's a deal," he added.

The talks did not initially appear to have produced meaningful steps toward a ceasefire in the deadliest conflict in Europe in 80 years, or toward a subsequent meeting between Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, both goals Trump had set ahead of the summit.

Putin said he expected Ukraine and its European allies to accept the results of the US-Russia negotiation constructively and not try to "disrupt the emerging progress."

"I expect that today's agreements will become a reference point, not only for solving the Ukrainian problem, but will also launch the restoration of business-like, pragmatic relations between Russia and the United States," Putin said.

But Putin also repeated Moscow's long-held position that what Russia claims to be the "root causes" of the conflict must be eliminated to reach a long-term peace, a sign he remains resistant to a ceasefire.

As the two leaders were talking, the war raged on, with most eastern Ukrainian regions under air raid alerts. Governors of Russia's Rostov and Bryansk regions reported that some of their territories were under Ukrainian drone attacks.

Zelenskiy has ruled out formally handing Moscow any territory and is also seeking a security guarantee backed by the United States. Trump said he would call Zelenskiy and NATO leaders to update them on the Alaska talks.

There was no immediate reaction from Kyiv to the summit. Ukraine's opposition lawmaker Oleksiy Honcharenko said on the Telegram messaging app, "It seems Putin has bought himself more time. No ceasefire or de-escalation has been agreed upon."

Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky said in a statement that he welcomed Trump's efforts but doubted Putin's interest in a deal.

"If Putin were serious about negotiating peace, he would not have been attacking Ukraine all day today," he said.

The anticlimactic end to the closely watched summit was in stark contrast to the pomp and circumstance with which it began. When Putin arrived at an Air Force base in Alaska, a red carpet awaited him, where Trump greeted Putin warmly as U.S. military aircraft flew overhead.

The meeting also included US Secretary of State Marco Rubio; Trump's special envoy to Russia, Steve Witkoff; Russian foreign policy aide Yury Ushakov; and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.

or Putin, the summit -- the first between him and a U.S. president since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 -- was already a big win, regardless of its outcome. He can portray the meeting as evidence that years of Western attempts to isolate Russia have unravelled and that Moscow is retaking its rightful place at the high table of international diplomacy.

Trump hopes a truce in the 3-1/2-year-old war that Putin started will bring peace to the region as well as bolster his credentials as a global peacemaker worthy of the Nobel Peace Prize.

Putin is wanted by the International Criminal Court, accused of the war crime of deporting hundreds of children from Ukraine. Russia denies the allegations, and the Kremlin has dismissed the ICC warrant as null and void. Russia and the United States are not members of the court.

Both Moscow and Kyiv deny targeting civilians in the war. But thousands of civilians have died in the conflict, the vast majority Ukrainian, and the war has killed or injured well over a million people from both sides.

Your Opinion Matters

Share your experiences, suggestions, and any issues you've encountered on The Jakarta Post. We're here to listen.

Enter at least 30 characters
0 / 30

Thank You

Thank you for sharing your thoughts. We appreciate your feedback.

Share options

Quickly share this news with your network—keep everyone informed with just a single click!

Change text size options

Customize your reading experience by adjusting the text size to small, medium, or large—find what’s most comfortable for you.

Gift Premium Articles
to Anyone

Share the best of The Jakarta Post with friends, family, or colleagues. As a subscriber, you can gift 3 to 5 articles each month that anyone can read—no subscription needed!

Continue in the app

Get the best experience—faster access, exclusive features, and a seamless way to stay updated.