That's what it's about

• Trump and Putin met in Alaska to discuss the Ukraine conflict.
• There were no concrete agreements, but both sides spoke of progress.
• Putin invited Trump to another meeting in Moscow.

US President Donald Trump and Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin both called the meeting on Friday (local time) productive, but did not comment on the details of their agreements. There is no deal until there is a deal, the US president said. He later emphasized that an agreement now depends on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

This is what Putin says

Putin called the first bilateral summit with Trump in seven years constructive and described the atmosphere of the talks as respectful."We hope that the understanding we have reached (...) will pave the way for peace in Ukraine," he emphasized after the three-hour talks. The Kremlin chief also called on Ukraine and the Europeans not to undermine a peace solution through provocations or behind-the-scenes intrigue.

This is what Trump says

Trump, for his part, spoke of an extremely productive meeting with Putin with many results. Very few issues remain, Trump said, without providing details. We haven't reached our goal yet, but we have a very good chance of reaching it, the US president emphasized. He will brief NATO allies and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky shortly.

Putin reiterated that a peaceful solution in Ukraine requires the restoration of a fair balance in the security sphere in Europe and the world as a whole. He has stated more than once that the events in Ukraine pose fundamental threats to Russia's national security, Putin emphasized.

Putin's invitation to Trump

The Russian leader extended a return invitation to Trump."Next time in Moscow," Putin said in English."Oh, that's interesting," Trump replied."I'm going to get a little criticism for this, but I could imagine it possibly happening." The two heads of state declined to answer questions from journalists.

Trump on Zelensky

Shortly after the summit, Trump said in an interview with Fox News regarding a deal:"Now it really depends on President Zelensky whether this succeeds. I would also say that the European nations need to engage a little bit, but it depends on President Zelensky."

No word of ceasefire

Trump didn't discuss new tariffs against Russia or its trading partners. He said just as little about a prisoner exchange as he did about possible territorial cessions. The US president didn't even mention the word"ceasefire." Yet that was precisely the core point that Kyiv and its European allies had insisted on: They consider an unconditional ceasefire a prerequisite for even entering into further negotiations with the Kremlin.

Putin, on the other hand, has repeatedly made it clear that he categorically rejects such a ceasefire. He demands, for example, an end to Western arms deliveries to Ukraine and a halt to mobilization in the country.

Trump now wants a peace agreement

The day after the meeting, Donald Trump addressed the ceasefire on Truth Social. He wrote:"Everyone agreed that the best way to end the terrible war between Russia and Ukraine is to directly conclude a peace agreement that ends the war, not just a ceasefire agreement, which often doesn't hold."

With this, the US President appears to have finally abandoned his ceasefire demand: Immediately before the summit in Alaska, Donald Trump said he would not be happy if no ceasefire was reached. By calling for a peace agreement, the US President is now adopting the Russian position, which has always rejected a ceasefire and instead called for a conditional agreement.

Other protagonists

Originally, Trump and Putin planned to hold a private meeting in Alaska with only interpreters. But then the group was expanded from the US side to include Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Trump's special envoy Steve Vitkoff. Putin brought Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Kremlin adviser Yuri Ushakov to the meeting. The motto of the hastily organized summit was"Pursuing Peace."

Pompous reception for Putin

As unclear as the summit's results were, Trump's reception for Putin in Anchorage, in the northwestern United States, was just as pompous. He had a red carpet rolled out for the Kremlin chief on the airstrip of the US military base Elmendorf-Richardson. Trump applauded Putin as the Kremlin chief, ostracized by the West for years, walked toward him from the plane.

The two presidents then shook hands for a long time, laughed, and talked. At a podium bearing the inscription"Alaska 2025," Trump and Putin shook hands again before boarding Trump's armored presidential limousine together.

This was discussed in advance

It was the first bilateral summit between Trump and Putin since a meeting in the Finnish capital Helsinki in July 2018. For Putin, it was also the first reception by a US president since he ordered the major Russian attack on Ukraine in February 2022.

The Kremlin chief was subsequently isolated by the US and its allies for years, and the International Criminal Court even issued an arrest warrant for Putin in March 2023 for war crimes. Critics therefore accused Trump of giving Putin a major stage again for the first time. Trump had emphasized in recent days that the summit with Putin was primarily intended to prepare for a three-way meeting with Zelensky. However, there was no further talk of this after the summit.

Trump also did not repeat his threat of very serious consequences for Russia if the attacks on Ukraine did not end immediately. Just a week ago, the US president had allowed an ultimatum to Putin to pass without consequences.