Above photo: President Donald Trump greets Russia’s President Vladimir Putin, Aug. 15, 2025, at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska. Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images.
NOTE: AntiWar.com reports: Following a three-hour meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and President Donald Trump, the leaders delivered brief statements at a press conference, stating that the talks were productive and constructive.
Putin spoke first, telling the press that the talks were in a “constructive atmosphere of mutual respect. We had very thorough negotiations.” He added that he hoped European governments and Ukraine would receive the agreements made with Trump “constructively” and that they would not interfere with the progress.
Trump explained that no final agreement was made. “So there’s no deal until there’s a deal,” he added. He went on to say he would call European leaders and Ukrainian President Zelensky. He added that it was ultimately up to the Ukrainians to accept any agreement.
After reading some 20+ pieces about the upcoming Trump-Putin talks I still have no idea of what the outcome might be. Trump’s uttering about the talks and Ukraine are, as usually, all over the place.
There seems to be some agreements already between the parties. If it were not so there would be no summit.
The Russian side is aiming at much more than Ukraine. The size and high ranks of its delegation is otherwise unexplained:
The Kremlin aide noted the very high level of the Russian delegation, which he said would include Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, Ushakov himself, Defense Minister Andrey Belousov, Finance Minister Anton Siluanov, and Special Presidential Representative for Investment and Economic Cooperation with Foreign Countries Kirill Dmitriev, who has been a key figure in the Ukraine settlement process.
“In addition to the presidents, five members from each delegation will participate in the negotiations,” he said, adding that “of course, a group of experts will also be nearby.”
There are nuclear weapon agreements that need an update and renewal. There are development opportunities in the Arctic and other economic aspects where both sides could win.
In fact, I suspect that there will be no decisions about the war in Ukraine.
The U.S. side knows that the war is a lost cause. Russia holds, as Trump has said, all the cards in that game. Whatever Trump does or says the war will be won on the ground by Russian forces. The best for him is to pull the U.S. out of the conflict and to leave the problem for the European vassals to solve.
For Russia the summit will be a big win even if there were no outcome. It has proven to global majority that it is reasonable and willing to go the extra mile to meet Trump even on U.S. territory. After this there will be no more pressure from China or India to stop the war.
