All Eyes on Putin–Trump Alaska Summit; Ukraine Peace Roadmap; Possible Zelensky Trilateral Also on Horizon
US President Donald Trump said he hopes to use his August 15 summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Anchorage to set the stage for a follow-up trilateral meeting with Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky; told reporters at the White House the next round could be held “very shortly after this meeting, maybe in Alaska”; and estimated the first session’s success probability at 75%, according to Fox News Radio.
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Russian officials have signaled they will focus the Alaska meeting on exploring a long-term peaceful resolution to the Ukrainian crisis. Kremlin aide Yury Ushakov confirmed the summit’s agenda includes Ukraine but also wider peace and security issues, bilateral economic potential, and other pressing regional topics.
Ushakov said the talks will begin at 10:30 p.m. Moscow time with a one-on-one session attended only by interpreters, followed by expanded delegations and a joint press conference. The Russian side will include Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, Defence Minister Andrey Belousov, Finance Minister Anton Siluanov, and Russian Direct Investment Fund head Kirill Dmitriev, who also serves as Special Presidential Envoy for Investment and Economic Cooperation.
Dmitriev told CNN the encounter is “very positive for the world” and a chance to “reset US-Russia relations” after the absence of dialogue during the Biden administration, stressing the importance of hearing Moscow’s position “directly” to counter “misunderstanding and disinformation.” He said the Russian delegation wants its stance clearly understood, which was “difficult under the Biden administration.”
Presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said preparations were completed under tight deadlines but warned against predicting the outcome, calling the Ukraine settlement “very complex and multi-layered.”
He said Moscow is not expecting a formal document from the summit but that Putin will outline “agreements and understandings” at the press conference.
Peskov also said Ukrainian views could be relevant in later negotiation stages but the current focus is the bilateral format. He linked the meeting’s location--near the burial site of Soviet pilots in Alaska--to the “combat camaraderie” between Russians and Americans during World War II.
Putin, after meeting UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan on August 7, said he was open to meeting Zelensky but that conditions “are still a long way” from being met.
Ushakov confirmed Washington had raised a possible trilateral with Trump and Zelensky, but Moscow would not comment, urging focus on the Putin-Trump format.
The Alaska summit follows US Special Representative Steve Witkoff’s August 6 visit to Moscow for talks with Putin, which Peskov called “productive” and which helped finalize arrangements. UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s office said the meeting “presents a viable chance to make progress” on Ukraine.
Russian Federation Council Deputy Speaker Konstantin Kosachev said on Telegram that the West wants any agreement “on its own terms” to maintain a “monopoly on ruling humanity,” while Moscow and partners prefer “mutual terms” and view Ukraine as “an integral part of our world.”
Putin told a Kremlin meeting this week that the current US administration is making “energetic and sincere efforts” to halt combat and reach a settlement “in the interests of all parties involved,” adding that any Ukraine agreement should create “lasting conditions for peace” in Europe and potentially open the way for accords on strategic offensive arms control.
India is also watching closely. A senior Indian government source told TASS that if Washington and Moscow move closer, “the Americans’ rhetoric regarding India’s oil purchases will probably soften,” possibly lowering US tariffs on Indian imports.
The US has imposed two rounds of 25% duties on Indian goods in connection with Russian crude purchases, bringing the total to 50%, a move New Delhi has called “unfair.”
The Indian source said, “If any dialogue leads to peace and stability, it is good for the whole world, for the region, and for peace in general.”
The Putin-Trump meeting is scheduled for Anchorage’s Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson. Delegations will be small, with expert groups on standby.
After the one-on-one and working breakfast, each leader will give brief remarks before the press conference. The Kremlin expects the next Putin-Trump summit to be held on Russian territory.
Trump said the Anchorage talks will “set up like a chess game,” with the first move deciding whether to pursue the “second meeting” that could include Zelensky.