Fateful day for Ukraine? Trump meets Putin - the key points of the Alaska summit
On US soil, Donald Trump receives Kremlin boss Vladimir Putin, who has been waging war against Ukraine for three and a half years. What will the talks achieve in the peace negotiations?
15.08.2025, 06:02
15.08.2025, 11:26
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- The world is waiting for the summit meeting between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin in Alaska.
- The Ukraine war is to be discussed and there is speculation about a possible agreement for a ceasefire.
- According to Trump himself, however, it cannot be ruled out that the summit will fail.
- At the same time, Trump reiterates that he sees the first meeting in Alaska this Friday primarily as preparation for a second meeting.
- Below you will find an overview of the most important points.
US President Donald Trump and Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin are meeting in Alaska in full view of the world to discuss the war in Ukraine. The one-on-one meeting far up north in the USA, in which Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is absent, could provide decisive impetus for a possible end to the war. At the same time, it remains to be seen what the bottom line of the meeting will actually be for the Russian war of aggression, which has been going on for three and a half years, and whether a ceasefire demanded by Ukraine, the Europeans and Trump will be achieved. According to the Kremlin, a summit declaration is not planned.
Concerns about territorial cessions
The Europeans and Ukrainians, especially Zelenskyi, are excluded from the talks, which will take place in the evening due to the time difference in Germany. They fear that Trump and Putin could agree to cede territory from Ukraine to Russia. Kiev strictly rejects this. Trump has spoken several times about an "exchange of territory".
According to previous statements, Russia wants the largely occupied Ukrainian territories of Donetsk and Luhansk in their entirety - and could potentially be prepared to withdraw from other occupied areas in return. Russian state television has been preparing its viewers for a possible end to the war for days - even though the fighting continues.
Europeans want a ceasefire first
One of the demands from Europe, which German Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU) had listed in advance, is that Ukraine must sit at the table at a follow-up meeting. A ceasefire was necessary before negotiations could begin. When discussing territorial issues, the current frontline must be the starting point, it was said. Merz ruled out recognition of Russian conquests under international law.
According to the demands, Ukraine also needs security guarantees and must retain a strong army. During the meeting between Zelenskyi, the European allies and Trump, the US President expressed his willingness for the USA to participate in security guarantees for Ukraine outside of NATO, according to dpa information. Previously, Washington had often said that this was a matter for the Europeans. However, it is unclear what the guarantees should look like.
"Opportunity to agree to a ceasefire"
Merz called on Putin to be serious shortly before the meeting. "We expect President Putin to take President Trump's offer of talks seriously and to enter into negotiations with Ukraine after the meeting in Alaska without conditions," said Merz according to the press release. Three and a half years after the attack on Ukraine in violation of international law, Russia now has the opportunity to agree to a ceasefire and end hostilities.
With regard to a possible "exchange of territory", the Chancellor emphasized that territorial issues could only be decided with the agreement of the Ukrainians. He was still in contact with the US President regarding the demands.
Meeting as a preliminary stage?
He would not make a deal himself, said Trump, who sees himself in the role of mediator, about the summit with Putin. This would also require the other side - the Ukrainians.
The US President is banking on a potential second meeting and presents the current one as a kind of preliminary stage. Putin and Zelenskyi should then meet from the perspective of the US side. "The second meeting will be very, very important - because that will be the meeting where they make a deal," said Trump. However, he also admitted that he doubted that his talks with Putin on Friday would lead to an immediate ceasefire. He did not rule out the possibility of the meeting remaining inconclusive. Trump also qualified that a second meeting could only take place if the first meeting went well.
Most recently, Trump had threatened Putin with "very serious consequences" if Putin refused to end hostilities after the meeting. He did not say what exactly he meant. Most recently, he had exerted pressure on trading partners who do oil business with Russia by threatening tariffs.
Nuclear weapons treaty as a lure for Moscow
Putin recently praised the US government. It was making "quite energetic and sincere efforts" to end the fighting in Ukraine and reach agreements that were in the interests of all sides involved. Nevertheless, he himself had repeatedly set tough conditions for a ceasefire - including, for example, a halt to Western arms deliveries to Ukraine. It is possible that Putin will propose a partial ceasefire for air strikes on energy facilities.
An end to the war and an agreement with the USA, said the Kremlin leader, could also create long-term conditions for peace in Europe and the world as a whole "if we move on to agreements on the control of strategic offensive weapons in the next phases". By strategic offensive weapons we mean intercontinental nuclear weapons.
The area of nuclear armaments is almost no longer regulated between Russia and the USA because treaties have expired or been terminated.
What happens after Alaska?
According to Trump, he would attend the second meeting. In the meantime, he has also discussed the participation of European heads of state and government. Whether Putin will agree to such a meeting is unclear.
Russia has been waging a war of aggression against Ukraine since February 2022. Either way, the meeting with the US president is a win-win situation for Putin: Trump is bringing him back onto the world stage - and out of isolation in the West. And Trump has repeatedly staged himself as a peacemaker in his second term of office since January. He wants to win the Nobel Peace Prize. During the election campaign, he repeatedly emphasized that he would end the war. No US president had met with him since Putin's war of aggression.
