President Donald Trump’s most high-profile effort yet to end Russia’s war in Ukraine fell short on Friday, as talks with Vladimir Putin produced no agreement despite a lavish welcome for the Russian leader.
“There’s no deal until there’s a deal,” Trump told reporters after Putin claimed the two leaders had reached an “understanding” on Ukraine and cautioned Europe not to “torpedo the nascent progress.” Trump said he would brief Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and European leaders about the discussions.
The meeting highlighted both the stakes and the challenges of Trump’s diplomacy. For months, the president has promised to deliver peace, declaring he could end the war on his first day back in office. Seven months later, after limiting U.S. military aid to Kyiv and clashing with Zelensky in the Oval Office, Trump could not persuade Putin even to pause hostilities. Russian forces continue to gain ground on the battlefield.
A Diplomatic Gamble
Trump sought to balance threats and outreach. He warned of punishing economic sanctions against Russia but also extended a red-carpet welcome for Putin at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage. The effort yielded no immediate results.
Instead, the optics of the visit handed Putin symbolic gains. The Russian president, shunned for years over his invasion of Ukraine and domestic repression, received international recognition simply by standing alongside the U.S. president. Trump also left open the door to easing sanctions.
The planned joint press conference ended without questions, signaling a lack of concrete progress. Later, in an interview with Fox News before departing Alaska, Trump described it as a “very warm meeting” but added: “It’s not a done deal at all.”
“A lot of points were negotiated,” Trump said. “As far as I’m concerned there’s no deal until there’s a deal. But we did make a lot of progress.”
Shifting Responsibility
Trump suggested that Ukraine’s president might bear more responsibility for reaching peace. He said Zelensky would “have to get it done,” with European nations also playing a role.
“We had an extremely productive meeting, and many points were agreed to,” Trump said during his joint appearance with Putin. “And there are just a very few that are left. Some are not that significant. One is probably the most significant, but we have a very good chance of getting there.”
He added: “We didn’t get there.”
Zelensky, excluded from the Alaska talks, posted a video address beforehand expressing hope for a “strong position from the U.S.”
Putin’s Gains
For Putin, the optics alone were a win. It was his first time on U.S. soil in more than a decade, and the Anchorage meeting may slow momentum toward further U.S. sanctions. Instead, it could pave the way for additional talks, giving Russia more time to press its advantage on the battlefield.
Putin thanked Trump for the “friendly” tone of their conversation and argued that the two countries should “turn the page and go back to cooperation.”
He praised Trump as someone who “has a clear idea of what he wants to achieve and sincerely cares about the prosperity of his country, and at the same time shows understanding that Russia has its own national interests.”
“I expect that today’s agreements will become a reference point not only for solving the Ukrainian problem, but will also mark the beginning of the restoration of businesslike, pragmatic relations between Russia and the U.S.,” Putin said.
Trump, in closing remarks, thanked Putin and suggested they would meet again soon. When Putin proposed “next time in Moscow,” Trump responded, “that’s an interesting one … I could see it possibly happening.”
A Carefully Managed Meeting
The talks were not one-on-one. Instead, Trump was joined by Secretary of State Marco Rubio and special envoy Steve Witkoff, while Putin brought Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and adviser Yuri Ushakov. The setup reflected lessons from 2018, when Trump’s private Helsinki meeting with Putin drew backlash after he appeared to side with the Russian leader over U.S. intelligence agencies.
But Zelensky’s exclusion broke with the long-held Western principle of “nothing about Ukraine without Ukraine,” raising fears in Kyiv and Europe that Trump might pursue a deal favorable to Moscow.
War Grinds On
The war, now in its fourth year, shows no sign of resolution. Putin has resisted even a temporary ceasefire, demanding restrictions on Western arms deliveries and Ukrainian mobilization — conditions rejected by Kyiv and its allies.
Ukraine continues to resist, but at high cost. Its army remains stretched along a 600-mile (1,000-kilometer) front line, facing relentless bombardment. Russia, with greater resources, is pushing forward despite international condemnation.
The symbolic setting underscored the stakes. The meeting took place at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Alaska, a Cold War hub for monitoring Soviet activity. Just three miles of water separate the U.S. and Russia at their closest point. As Trump and Putin exchanged smiles on the red carpet, U.S. B-2s and F-22s flew overhead — aircraft designed to deter the very adversary Putin leads.
