Trump calls summit with Putin 'very productive,' but neither leader reveals details
President Donald Trump is set to travel to Anchorage, Alaska, on Friday morning to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin in the first US-Russia summit since former President Joe Biden took office in 2021.
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President Donald Trump waves as he boards Air Force One after meeting with Russia's President Vladimir Putin at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, Friday, Aug. 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
President Donald Trump said Ukraine could possibly not agree to a deal with Russia because former President Joe Biden “handed out money like it was candy,” referring to the billions of dollars in military aid.
“I think we're pretty close to it. And look, Ukraine has agreed to it," Trump told Sean Hannity during a Friday appearance on “Hannity.” "Maybe they'll say no because Biden handed out money like it was candy. And Europe gave them a lot of money. You know, we gave $350 billion. Europe gave them much less, but still a lot. $100 billion.”
The United States has given Ukraine billions in military aid, weapons and training as Ukrainian forces continue to battle Russian's military.
Trump said he believed the deal was close to being agreed upon but that “so many things can happen.”
“But I think President Putin would like to solve the problem," he said. "And it was a problem that should have never happened.”
President Donald Trump listens during a joint press conference with Russia's President Vladimir Putin at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, Friday, Aug. 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
President Donald Trump is declining to reveal the main sticking points between himself and Russian President Vladimir Putin on achieving a conclusive peace deal in Ukraine.
Trump met with Putin for almost three hours, saying they both agreed “on a lot of points.”
“There's one or two pretty significant items, but I think they can be reached,” Trump told Sean Hannity on “Hannity” from Anchorage, Alaska, where the summit meeting took place.
“Now it's really up to President Zelenskyy to get it done,” he added.
President Donald Trump, right, shakes the hand of Russia's President Vladimir Putin during a joint press conference at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, Friday, Aug. 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Russian President Vladimir Putin calls for increased engagement and economic cooperation with the United States
During the Alaska summit press conference, Putin was speaking to reporters when he called for both nations to build stronger economic relations, citing opportunities for growth for the Russian economy, in areas such as digital innovation and research and development.
Putin praised the renewed growth in bilateral trade , citing an increase of 20%, and specifically referenced opportunities in the cement industry and the Arctic region.
He also relayed hope for greater political cooperation with the U.S. following years of fraught relations that escalated after Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.
President Donald Trump meets with Russia's President Vladimir Putin Friday, Aug. 15, 2025, at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska. At left is Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and second from right is Secretary of State Marco Rubio. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
Russian President Vladimir Putin said President Donald Trump was right that there would have been no war in 2022 if he were in charge at the time.
Putin made his remarks during a joint press conference with Trump following their summit meeting in Alaska in an effort to end Russia's war in Ukraine.
The Russian leader said he had tried to convince the Biden administration about the situation in Ukraine in 2022 before noting that if Trump had occupied the White House at the time, there would have been no attack.
Trump has long blamed his predecessor, former President Joe Biden, for not doing enough to prevent Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Trump, Putin brief the media after meeting
President Donald Trump called the meeting with President Vladimir Putin “extremely productive” but added “there’s no deal until there’s a deal.”
“Many points were agreed to, there are just a few that are left,” Trump added. “We didn’t get there but we have a very good chance of getting there.”
He said he was going to call up NATO allies and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy after the joint news conference with Putin and brief them about the inner workings of the meeting. Trump thanked Putin for coming to Alaska, and Putin suggested their next meeting should be in Moscow.“That's an interesting one. I'll get a little heat on that one, but I, I could see it possibly happening.”
Neither president took questions from the media, and they did not provide any details of what they agreed to. Neither mentioned a ceasefire.
“We really made some great progress today. I've always had a fantastic relationship with President Putin.”
Top advisor to President Donald Trump, Dan Scavino, shared footage of the view Russian President Vladimir Putin had after joining Trump in the presidential limousine, known colloquially as "The Beast."
The footage shows The Beast passing by a row of military fighter jets that appeared to be F-35 Lightning II aircraft, which is primarily constructed by American defense contractor Lockheed Martin.
The meeting of the two leaders was also accompanied by a flyover from a B-2 stealth bomber flanked by four F-35 jets, which took place as he deplaned to join the summit at at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson.
Trans Alaska Pipeline System in Alaska/Getty Images
Republican Alaska gubernatorial candidate Bernadette Wilson celebrated President Donald Trump as the first president to appreciate Alaska’s vast resources and how they will benefit the entire nation as he jets to the Last Frontier State to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“President Trump is the first president in America’s history who truly appreciates the richness of Alaska’s resources and has the drive to unlock them. It is a refreshing change in direction from the Biden administration, which issued more sanctions against Alaska than the country of Iran,” Wilson said in comment provided to Fox News Digital ahead of Trump touching down in the state.
“It is time for ‘American Oil on Alaskan Soil',” she said
Trump is in Alaska on Friday for a highly-anticipated meeting with Putin to potentially negotiate a ceasefire agreement in the war in Ukraine that has raged since 2022.
“Now, President Trump and President Putin convene in the state whose purchase from Russia was once referred to as ‘Seward’s Folly’ - a state that has the ability to fuel our great country through this century and beyond,” Wilson added.
“If this is to be the Golden Age of America, then the history books will be filled with stories of American excellence powered by Alaskans’ determination. I truly believe America’s strength starts with Alaska, and as governor, I look forward to partnering with President Trump, who recognizes this potential.”
Wilson, a conservative Anchorage business owner, launched her gubernatorial campaign in May.
Speculation swirled before President Donald Trump's meeting with Russian leader Vladimir Putin over territory swaps, which could significantly alter the landscape of Ukraine as all three nations seek an end to the ongoing war ravaging that country.
Russia has claimed vast parts of Ukraine since 2014, when it annexed Crimea.
As of Friday, Russia has taken parts of Ukraine, including portions of Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia in the east. Both sides have sustained significant losses, but Moscow has recently made territorial gains.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has rejected ceding any territory to Russia as part of a peace plan.
"Ukrainians will not give their land to the occupier," Zelenskyy said on social media last week after Trump announced Friday's meeting.
In his announcement, Trump said "there'll be some swapping of territories to the betterment of both" Russia and Ukraine.
Meanwhile, Zelenskyy has called for an unconditional ceasefire to end the conflict.
Chairman of the Democratic National Committee, Ken Martin, took to social media to slam President Donald Trump's "priorities" amid his summit taking place in Alaska with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Martin posted a photo of Trump's Oval Office meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy alongside an image of Putin riding in the president's limo with a smile on his face sitting next to Trump.
"Compare this to how Trump and Vance treated Zelensky in the Oval Office," the post with the photos was captioned. "This says everything about Trump’s priorities."
Martin was seeking to juxtapose the two moments, the first from earlier this year in February when Zelenskyy came to the White House and the second from today's summit in Alaska. The infamous February meeting became headline news when the Ukrainian president got into a heated back-and-forth with Trump and others on national television from the Oval Office.
Friday's summit marks the first time the leaders from Russia and the United States have met in-person since the war in Ukraine began roughly three-and-a-half years ago.
The Diomede Islands in the Bering Strait are separated by the International Date Line with Big Diomede Island (Russia) 21 hours ahead of Little Diomede (United States) on June 14, 2017 in Diomede Islands, Bering Strait. (Getty Images)
As President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin meet to discuss a possible end to the war in Ukraine, two islands in the Bering Strait are a reminder of the connections between the United States and Moscow.
The Diomede Islands are separated by 2.5 miles of water and ice, though they are about 21 hours apart. Little Diomede, the smaller of the two, is part of the U.S.
Big Diomede is Russian. The island is uninhabited, except for a Russian border guard station, according to the BBC.
Little Diomede is home to around 80 residents who live in homes perched on the western shore, the news outlet reported.
In the winter, it's possible to walk across the sea from one island to the other.
In 1948, at the onset of the Cold War, the Soviet Union relocated Big Diomede's Indigenous residents to the Russian mainland, mostly in Siberia. Both the U.S. and the Soviet Union sealed the border, creating a boundary known as the "Ice Curtain".
Most Little Diomede residents have relatives in Russia who were relocated from Big Diomede.
As President Donald Trump greeted Russian President Vladimir Putin on the tarmac at Elmendorf Air Force Base, a B-2 stealth bomber flew overhead, flanked by four F-35 jets.
The dramatic arrival underscored the high-stakes nature of the leaders’ Alaska summit, their first face-to-face meeting since Trump returned to office. Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, a strategic U.S. military installation near Anchorage, was chosen for its security, remote location, and symbolic positioning between Russia and the continental United States.
U.S. onlookers described the moment as an “insane flex” — especially given the B-2 bomber’s recent combat use. Just two months earlier, the stealth aircraft had delivered bunker-buster bombs on Iranian nuclear facilities during coordinated U.S. and Israeli strikes.“Absolutely incredible,” wrote one X user.
Another remarked, “Putin now knows what will be greeting him if he were to ever cross that line that should never be crossed.”
After the greeting, Putin entered “The Beast” with Trump. The presidential armored limousine passed rows of parked American fighter jets before heading to the summit site on base. Talks began around 3:30 p.m. ET, focusing on ending the war in Ukraine.
The base where President Donald Trump is meeting Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday is the largest military installation in Alaska.
Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, a remote base located just outside Anchorage, was created in 2010 as part of the merger of the Air Force's Elmendorf base and the U.S. Army's Fort Richardson. It covers more than 85,000 acres.
Key units based there include the 3rd Wing and the 673rd Air Base Wing for the Air Force, and the Army's 11th Airborne Division.
The base played a crucial role during the Cold War as it monitored the Soviet Union.
“Following World War II , Elmendorf Field assumed an increasing role in defense of North America as the uncertain wartime relations between the United States and the Soviet Union deteriorated into the Cold War,” the joint base's website states.
The base boasts more than 32,000 people and accounts for approximately 10% of the local population, according to the U.S. military.
Then-Candidate Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton on a debate stage. Photo by Rick Wilking-Pool/Getty Images
President Donald Trump said he may “have to start liking” Hillary Clinton again after she said she would nominate him for the Nobel Peace Prize if he is able to secure a deal between Russia and Ukraine.
Bret Baier interviewed Trump aboard Air Force One when he noted that Clinton said she would nominate Trump if he got the deal done and didn't capitulate to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“Well, that was very nice,” Trump said. “I may have to start liking her again.”
Clinton appeared on the "Raging Moderates" podcast, when she said she would nominate Trump for the award if he could convince Putin to end his war against Ukraine and give back all the territory his forces took during the conflict.
"You know, look, if we could pull that off, if President Trump were the architect of that, I'd nominate him for a Nobel Peace Prize," she said during the interview.
President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin greeted each other Friday ahead of their much-anticipated meeting.
The pair met on the tarmac at Elmendorf Air Force Base in Alaska where they shook hands. The meeting between the pair is the first since Trump began his second term in office.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov reacts during a press conference following talks with Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad Hassan al-Shibani in Moscow, Russia, July 31, 2025. REUTERS/Shamil Zhumatov/Pool
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov was seen wearing a “CCCP” shirt upon arriving in Alaska on Friday.
Lavrov is part of the Russian delegation set to meet with President Trump and other U.S. leaders. The phrase “CCCP” is the Russian acronym for the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR).
On Telegram, Russian fashion bloggers identified the $120 sweatshirt as the work of Selsovet, a Chelyabinsk-based brand that specializes in “Soviet heritage” clothing, The Guardian reported.
“We never make predictions ahead of time,” Lavrov said. "We have solid arguments, we have our own clear and comprehensible position. We will present it here."
Russian President Vladimir Putin stopped at a Russian memorial honoring Soviet-era cooperation with American forces during Word War II, ahead of his meeting in Alaska with U.S. President Donald Trump.
Video ahead of the highly anticipated meeting showed Putin laying flowers at the memorial, located in Magadan, Russia, which commemorates the Alaska-Siberia air route during World War II.
Putin also made other stops enroute to his meeting with Trump, including to a fish oil processing plant and a sports complex in Russia, according to the Moscow Times.
Putin and Trump are slated to meet at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage starting at 11 a.m. Alaska Time, or 3 p.m. Eastern.
Special Presidential Envoy Steve Witkoff, left, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio arrive before a trilateral signing ceremony with Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev and Armenia's Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan in the State Dining Room of the White House, Friday, Aug. 8, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
President Donald Trump will be joined by Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Secretary of State Marco Rubio and other leaders for his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
A White House official said the meeting will include Witkoff, Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, and Chief of Staff Susie Wiles for an expanded bilateral meeting and working lunch.
A Russian soldier carries an ammunition during a practice at a training ground during on an undisclosed location in Ukraine. (Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP)
Russian troops have made gains inside Ukraine in recent days ahead of Friday's summit meeting in Alaska between U.S. and Russian leaders.
Russian forces recently breached Ukrainian lines in the country’s industrial heartland of Donetsk. Despite the advance, analyst said that the breaches amounted to a limited success for Russia.
On Tuesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Putin wants Ukraine to withdraw from the remaining 30% of the Donetsk region that Kyiv still controls as part of a ceasefire deal.
Ukraine has rejected such a deal.
The Associated Press contributed to this post.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy appears with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz following talks with European and U.S. leaders in Berlin, Germany, Wednesday, Aug. 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi, File)
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russia continues to launch airstrikes against Ukraine despite Friday's upcoming meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and President Donald Trump.
“On the day of negotiations, the Russians are killing as well. And that speaks volumes," Zelenskyy wrote on X in a post accompanied with a video message. "Recently, weʼve discussed with the U.S. and Europeans what can truly work. Everyone needs a just end to the war.”
In the video, the Ukrainian leader said security guarantees are needed to ensure a lasting peace on all sides of the conflict, which has resulted in losses for Ukraine and Russian forces.
“Ukraine is ready to work as productively as possible to bring the war to an end, and we count on a strong position from America," Zelenskyy said. "Everything will depend on this – the Russians factor in American strength. Make no mistake – strength.”
SERGEI BOBYLYOV/POOL/AFP via Getty Images
Not for the first time European leaders are waiting to see what comes from the latest discussion between Russian President Vladimir Putin and President Donald Trump as the leaders convene in Alaska on Friday.
“[There’s] absolute distrust in any even the slightest idea that Putin wants peace, because he keeps On annihilating Ukraine,” Lithuanian Defense Minister Dovile Sakaliene told Fox News Digital during her trip to Washington, D.C. to meet with Pentagon officials this week.
“Even now, when your president has clearly stated that he wants this war to end, and basically provides an opportunity for Putin to talk, still every single day and night, until those talks, he keeps bombing civilians,” she added. “He keeps annihilating Ukrainian land.”
Trump has yet to detail how he will respond should his meeting with Putin prove fruitless in advancing a path forward for a ceasefire, though he said on Wednesday there would be “very severe consequences.”
AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin
One day before his highly anticipated meeting with President Donald Trump, Russian President Vladimir Putin suggested he was open to reaching a nuclear deal with the United States.
Putin on Thursday praised the United States in televised remarks for making "sincere efforts" to end the three-year war between Russia and Ukraine, according to Reuters.
The Russian leader said the United States was "making, in [his] opinion, quite energetic and sincere efforts to stop the hostilities, stop the crisis and reach agreements that are of interest to all parties involved in this conflict."
Putin also mentioned the possibility of "agreements in the area of control over strategic offensive weapons."
Dmitry Peskov, a spokesperson for the Russian government, cautioned against making any predictions about the forthcoming summit, where the two countries’ leaders are set to meet for the first time since 2021.
AP Photo/ Evgeniy Maloletka
President Donald Trump has renewed calls for a territorial land swap between Russia and Ukraine — a move that could give Moscow control of resource-rich regions in the south and east. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has firmly rejected ceding any occupied territory.
Russia currently holds about one-fifth of Ukraine, including parts of Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, Kherson, and Crimea.
David Salvo of the German Marshall Fund told Fox News Digital these areas contain “vast quantities of critical minerals and other key economic assets… like lithium, coal, and gas.”
The Institute for the Study of War warned that Russia could exploit rare-earth deposits and sell them to China, undermining a U.S.–Ukraine mineral deal signed in April. Salvo added that occupation of the Black Sea coast restricts Ukrainian exports and grants Moscow offshore gas reserves. Ukraine’s agriculture sector, once 11% of GDP, has suffered $80 billion in losses since Russia’s invasion.
This is an excerpt from an article written by Amanda Macias.
Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images
The European Union made their position on President Donald Trump's "land swapping" push clear following a ministerial powwow on Monday, and told Fox News Digital, there should be no "concessions" until Russia agrees to stop its war.
"Russia has not agreed to a full and unconditional ceasefire, we should not even discuss any concessions," EU policy chief Kaja Kallas told Fox News Digital in a written statement. "It has never worked in the past with Russia, and will not work with Putin today.
"The sequencing of the steps is important," she added. "First an unconditional ceasefire with a strong monitoring system and ironclad security guarantees."
Trump has said he does not intend to discuss any deals or concessions during his meeting with Putin, despite concerns that arose this week following his comments regarding Ukrainian territory.
Background image: Stringer/Anadolu via Getty Images, image of Trump: BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images, Image of Putin: MIKHAIL METZEL/POOL/AFP via Getty Images
A senior ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin warned earlier this week that several countries would make “titanic efforts” to disrupt the forthcoming summit Friday between Putin and President Donald Trump in Alaska.
The warning came from Kirill Dmitriev, Russia’s investment envoy, who said critics could try to sabotage the talks through diplomatic maneuvers or media provocations.
"Undoubtedly, a number of countries interested in continuing the conflict will make titanic efforts to disrupt the planned meeting between President Putin and President Trump," Dmitriev, wrote on Telegram on Saturday, referencing the Kremlin's ongoing war in Ukraine.
The meeting, at this stage, remains on schedule and is set to take place as part of a bilateral program at 3 p.m. ET.
Dmitriev, who is known for his key behind-the-scenes role in diplomacy, has often acted as an informal link between Moscow and Washington.
David Ryder/Bloomberg via Getty Images | Mikhail Metzel/POOL/AFP via Getty Images | Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images
Speculation over the upcoming meeting with President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin has run rampant over the last week with some expressing concern the Alaska-based powwow could be more games by the Kremlin, while others have begun to draw comparisons to the 1985 breakthrough meeting with President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev.
While some comparisons can be drawn between the upcoming summit and the historic meeting in Geneva – which then led to the pair sitting down together two more times before the Cold War was finally brought to an end – there are "glaring" differences, warned experts.
Putin and Gorbachev are vastly different statesmen, and so far Putin has shown no interest in ending his war ambitions, let alone altering the course he has set at home when it comes to the economy and government transparency, experts say.
"They need to meet. We need to see the results of the meeting," Dan Hoffman, former CIA Moscow station chief, told Fox News Digital.
Photo by Contributor/Getty Images | Photographer: Bonnie Cash/UPI/Bloomberg via Getty Images | Fox News Digital
President Donald Trump today will hold a historic summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson near Anchorage, Alaska — the first U.S.-Russia meeting on American soil since June 2021.
Trump calls it a “feel-out meeting,” aimed at gauging whether a ceasefire in Ukraine is possible early on. He acknowledged the talks carry risk, placing the odds of failure at 25%, but floated the idea of a follow-up summit involving Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy if things go well.
Zelenskyy continues to insist any peace deal must include Ukraine.
Meanwhile, Putin praised Trump’s “sincere” and “energetic” efforts toward peace, suggesting the talks could touch on broader topics like economics and arms-control cooperation.
President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin are set to meet in person on Friday for the first time in six years when they get together in Anchorage, Alaska.
Here is a history of Trump’s high-stakes interactions with Putin while being President of the United States:
2015 – Early mutual admiration between Putin and Trump
Mutual admiration was publicly brewing between Putin and Trump in late 2015 when Trump was running for his first term in office.
In December that year, Putin described Trump as being the "absolute leader in the presidential race" and a "very outstanding person, talented, without any doubt."
Trump later told supporters at a rally in Ohio that "It is always a great honor to be so nicely complimented by a man so highly respected within his own country and beyond."
Valentina Pevtsova, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP
President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin are set to meet in Alaska Friday, in what marks Putin's first trip to the U.S. in a decade.
Alaska was seen as a good in-between place for travel from Moscow and Washington, D.C., though it is notable that Putin opted to meet on U.S. soil rather than a neutral zone like Geneva, which is where Reagan and Gorbachev had their first meeting.
"They probably avoided Europe, because if they included Europe, then Europe would have demanded that they're actually at the table," Dan Hoffman, former CIA Moscow Station Chief, told Fox News Digital. "Probably your two choices were go to Russia — which Trump would never do — or invite him here.
"It also exposes the challenge that you can't solve this without Ukraine and without Europe," he added.
Trump has said he plans to get Russian and Ukrainian leadership in a room together next
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