Trump, Putin to meet in Alaska for high-stakes Ukraine talks
US president once claimed he could end it in 24 hours but now admits it is tougher than expected.
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File photo: U.S. President Donald Trump and Russia's President Vladimir Putin talk during the family photo session at the APEC Summit in Danang, Vietnam.
Summit to take place at military base in Alaska at 1900 GMT
Trump says he thinks Putin will do a deal
Kremlin source says it looks as though terms will be agreed
Ukraine's Zelenskiy, not invited, looks on
Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin will meet Friday at a Cold War-era air force base in Alaska — their first face-to-face since Trump’s return to the White House — with hopes of brokering a Ukraine ceasefire and a last-minute offer from Putin for a new nuclear deal.
Trump is pushing for a truce to boost his image as a global peacemaker, potentially bolstering a Nobel Peace Prize bid. Putin, under mounting sanctions pressure, is dangling a nuclear arms control agreement to sweeten the talks.
The war in Ukraine has dragged on for three-and-a-half years. Trump once claimed he could end it in 24 hours but now admits it is tougher than expected.
On Wednesday, he reassured Ukraine and European allies on a call that Kyiv must be involved in any territorial talks and expressed support for security guarantees in a post-war deal.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is not invited to the Alaska meeting, but Trump says a follow-up three-way summit could be “even more important.”
Putin wants relief from U.S. sanctions — or at least no new ones — and a ceasefire that keeps Russian forces in control of nearly 20% of Ukraine.
His longer-term goals include full control of Donbas, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia, the removal of NATO membership from Ukraine’s agenda, and limits on Ukraine’s armed forces.
A source close to the Kremlin told Reuters it looked as if the two sides had been able to find some unspecified common ground beforehand.
"Apparently, some terms will be agreed upon tomorrow (Friday) because Trump cannot be refused, and we are not in a position to refuse (due to sanctions pressure)," said the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the matter's sensitivity.
Analysts warn that Putin may try to shape any agreement to his advantage. “If they are able to put a deal on the table that creates some kind of ceasefire but leaves Russia in control of those escalatory dynamics… that would be a wonderful outcome from Putin’s perspective,” said Sam Greene of the Center for European Policy Analysis.
Ukrainian officials remain skeptical, with Zelenskyy accusing Putin of “bluffing” to buy time and avoid tougher U.S. secondary sanctions.
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