U.S. President Donald Trump shakes hand with Russian President Vladimir Putin, as they meet to negotiate for an end to the war in Ukraine, at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska, U.S., August 15, 2025.
Kevin Lamarque | Reuters
Russian President Vladimir Putin landed in Alaska for high-stakes talks Friday with President Donald Trump, who seeks to negotiate a ceasefire in Russia’s war against Ukraine.
Trump greeted Putin on the tarmac of Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage shortly after the Russian leader’s plane set down at around 10:50 a.m. local time, or 2:50 p.m. ET. Trump had arrived earlier.
They did not respond to shouted questions from reporters.
The talks come as Europe — including Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who was not invited — watches with bated breath.
A plane carrying Russian President Vladimir Putin arrives at Joint Base Elmendorf Richardson on August 15, 2025 in Anchorage, Alaska.
Andrew Harnik | Getty Images
The state leaders are set to begin their summit around 11:30 a.m. local time (3:30 p.m. ET) at the Elmendorf-Richardson military base in Anchorage, Alaska.
There will then be a working lunch for both delegations, before the presidents hold a joint news conference to summarize their talks.
The presser will undoubtedly be one of the most closely watched events of this year, revealing just how near, or far, the end of the war in Ukraine is — a conflict that has spanned more than 3½ years.
U.S. President Donald Trump boards Air Force One as he departs for Alaska to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin to negotiate for an end to the war in Ukraine, from Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, U.S., August 15, 2025.
Kevin Lamarque | Reuters
“The president wants to exhaust all options to try to bring this war to a peaceful resolution,” the White House stated ahead of the Alaska summit.
It remains to be seen whether those “options” will ultimately be good or bad for Ukraine.
Not only is a ceasefire at stake — if Trump can persuade Putin to agree to one — but so too are Ukraine’s territorial integrity, Europe’s security, Russia’s economy and geopolitical alliances.
Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who has a checkered relationship with Trump and was not invited to the talks, will be nervous as they get underway. On Friday, the president commented on X: “It is time to end the war, and the necessary steps must be taken by Russia. We are counting on America.”
Both he and his European allies fear the U.S. leader could capitulate to skilled negotiator Putin’s likely demands for Moscow to retain occupied Ukrainian territory and cut short Ukraine’s NATO membership aspirations, in return for halting its military offensive.
As he headed off to Alaska on Air Force One, Trump told reporters that “something is going to come of it [the meeting].” When asked about Russia’s ongoing attacks on Ukraine, the president said Putin “thinks that gives him strength in talks, I think it hurts him,” in comments reported by Reuters.
Trump also insisted that Ukraine has to decide about its territory and that security guarantees were “possible along with Europe,” without giving further details.
What’s the schedule?
On Friday, the White House confirmed that the U.S. delegation includes Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Treasury and Commerce Secretaries Scott Bessent, and Howard Lutnick, CIA Director John Ratcliffe and special envoy Steven Witkoff, as well as other senior U.S. officials.
Moscow released more details about the summit earlier than Washington, however. It was only this week confirmed that the presidents’ talks would be a “one-on-one” meeting.
Russia’s President Vladimir Putin waves his hand during a visit to a plant of Omega-Sea enterprise in the far eastern port city of Magadan on the Sea of Okhotsk, Russia, August 15, 2025.
Alexey Nikolsky | Via Reuters
The Kremlin echoed that view, stating that Trump and Putin will meet “in a tete-a-tete format” behind closed doors with translators in tow, “naturally,” according to Putin’s aide on foreign affairs, Yuri Ushakov.
“Considering that very important topics of a sensitive nature will be discussed, the list of participants in the negotiations is not big,” Ushakov added, in comments translated by NBC News.
Russia’s delegation includes only a few members of Putin’s inner circle, with Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, Defense Minister Andrei Belousov, Finance Minister Anton Siluanov and Kirill Dmitriev, Russia’s investment and trade envoy, as well as Ushakov.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov looks on, next to Russian President Vladimir Putin, as they wait for the US-Russia summit at the Villa La Grange, in Geneva on June 16, 2021.
Brendan Smialowski | AFP | Getty Images
The presidential aide commented that “it is obvious to everyone that the central topic will be the settlement of the Ukrainian crisis,” including the “broader tasks of ensuring peace and security,” as well as pressing international and regional issues.
Signaling that Russia will be looking to extol the economic benefits of a rapprochement with the U.S., Ushakov added that “an exchange of views is expected regarding the further development of bilateral cooperation, including in the trade and economic area,” noting that “this cooperation has enormous and, unfortunately, untapped potential.”