Vladimir Putin

When United States President Donald Trump invited his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy for talks at the White House on Monday, the European leaders rushed to Washington, DC to stand alongside Zelenskyy in a show of support.

The last meeting between Trump and Zelenskyy, held in February at the Oval Office, did not go down well for the Ukrainian leader. He was publicly berated and blamed for the Ukraine war – which was actually started by Russia in February 2022.

The European leaders wanted to ensure Kyiv’s interests were taken into consideration days after Trump rolled out a red-carpet welcome to Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska talks.

And much to their relief, the fraught issue of Ukraine’s security guarantees did emerge as one of the key talking points in the White House talks. Trump, who has ruled out NATO membership for Kyiv, offered a US role in the security of Ukraine.

While the specifics of the security guarantees have not been revealed, Trump added that European countries would be the “first line of defence”.

Here is more about Ukraine’s security guarantee, what the US role would be, and how would it be different from NATO security?

What has Trump said?

“When it comes to security, there’s going to be a lot of help,” Trump told reporters on Monday, referring to the US role in Ukraine’s security.

Trump added that European countries would be involved in providing these security guarantees.

“We have people waiting in another room, right now, they’re all here from Europe,” Trump said during a summit at the White House attended by Zelenskyy and a group of European allies. “Biggest people in Europe. And they want to give protection. They feel very strongly about it, and we’ll help them out with that.”

“They are a first line of defence because they’re there, but we’ll help them out,” Trump said.

In an interview with Fox News on Tuesday, the US president said European ground troops could be part of security guarantees but ruled out deployment of US ground troops to Ukraine.

“When it comes to security, they’re willing to put people on the ground,” he told Fox News, referring to European allies whom he met in the White House on Monday.

“We’re willing to help them with things, especially, probably, if you talk about by air, because no one has the kind of stuff we have, really, they don’t,” Trump said.

Ukraine has been seeking NATO membership to boost its security against Russian aggression, but the Trump administration has ruled that out, calling it “unrealistic”. On Tuesday he reiterated Ukraine won’t be able to join NATO.

Trump had been asking Europe to take the front seat in providing security guarantees for Ukraine.

The European leaders who attended the summit on Monday included French President Emmanuel Macron, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Finnish President Alexander Stubb, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte.

Marina Miron, a postdoctoral researcher at the defence studies department at King’s College London, told Al Jazeera that Trump’s language was notably ambiguous during the summit because neither the US nor the Trump administration is genuinely willing to become directly involved.

What has Zelenskyy said?

In a post on X recapping his meeting with Trump, Zelenskyy wrote that security issues are “a key issue, a starting point towards ending the war.”

“We appreciate the important signal from the United States regarding its readiness to support and be part of these guarantees,” Zelenskyy wrote. However, he did not specify what these guarantees would be.

When a reporter asked Zelenskyy what security guarantees Ukraine needs, he responded, saying, “Everything.”

Later, Zelenskyy told reporters that the guarantees would be “formalised on paper within the next week to 10 days.”

“There will be discussions, and we are preparing the relevant formats,” he later wrote in a post on X, adding that “national security advisors are also in constant contact now.”

Separately, the Ukrainian leader added that Ukraine would buy US weapons worth $90bn.

What could the security guarantees for Ukraine include?

“Ukraine wants a lot, but how much of those security guarantees that Ukraine envisages it will get is another question,” said Miron.

She said that even the Ukrainian side has not spelled out exactly what security guarantees it requires, and details such as the number of troops required have not been specified.

Keir Giles, a Eurasia expert at the think tank Chatham House told Al Jazeera that support for Ukraine could take many forms, ranging from written promises — which risk being as ineffective as the 1994 Budapest Memorandum, when Russia pledged to respect Ukraine’s sovereignty but ultimately did not — to the actual deployment of Western troops to deter further Russian aggression.

One possible way security guarantees could be provided to Ukraine would be if Ukraine’s allies provided on-ground peacekeeping forces in Ukraine to supplement the Ukrainian army.

Giles said that this option has been, until now, consistently ruled out by the US, and by European states without US backing.

In March, Starmer declared that a “coalition of the willing” would come together to draw up a peace plan to end the war in Ukraine. This coalition, a temporary group of volunteer countries, would provide security guarantees to ensure the end of the war in Ukraine.

However, Starmer did not specify whether the coalition would continue to provide security guarantees after the war ended, or whether member states would put boots on the ground in Ukraine.

Russia cited Kyiv’s NATO ambitions and NATO enlargement in Eastern Europe as one of the key reasons for launching its war on Ukraine.

Since the Russian invasion, Kyiv has been pushing to be granted NATO membership, which would offer it security under Article 5 of the 32-member alliance. Under Article 5, if one or more NATO members are subjected to an armed attack, it will be regarded as an attack against all members.

Trump’s special envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, told the news agency CNN that Russia had agreed to allow the US and Europe to “effectively offer Article 5-like language to cover a security guarantee” to Ukraine.

However, Ukraine’s NATO membership is currently on hold. Before the summit on Monday, Trump said there will be “no going into NATO by Ukraine” as part of a ceasefire agreement.

Miron said that Trump is likely to push for a peace deal, signalling to Ukraine that regaining lost territories militarily is unlikely.

Hence, Ukraine faces a tough choice: “Either they keep on fighting or they accept things as they are, and if they keep on fighting, the chances are that they will lose even more. From my understanding, if Ukraine continues fighting, they are not going to be counting on US support,” Miron from King’s College said.

She added that if Russia resumes aggression in Ukraine, it’s uncertain whether NATO members would intervene, as NATO currently appears unwilling to get directly involved or confront Russia.

Meanwhile, Starmer will host a virtual meeting of the coalition of the willing on Tuesday.

What’s next?

There are still no signs of a peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine.

After the White House summit on Monday, Trump said he spoke to Putin and is making arrangements for a meeting between Putin and Zelenskyy. Zelenskyy said he is ready” to meet the Russian leader one-on-one.

In a Truth Social post where he laid out this plan, Trump said that after the bilateral meeting between the Ukrainian and Russian leaders, there will be a trilateral meeting between Putin, Zelenskyy and Trump.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and top European leaders met with United States President Donald Trump at the White House on Monday to discuss plans to bring an end to Russia’s war in Ukraine.

Trump convened the meeting after last week’s three-hour summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska, where Putin rejected the idea of a ceasefire before reaching a comprehensive peace deal and urged Ukraine to surrender territory in the east in exchange for freezing the front line elsewhere.

Trump and Zelenskyy’s interactions were notably warmer than during their tense encounter at the White House in February, with the US president even praising his counterpart’s suit.

Here are the key takeaways:

Trump says US will give Ukraine ‘very good protection’

Trump said the US would back Europe in protecting Ukraine as part of a deal to end the war with Russia.

“When it comes to security, there’s going to be a lot of help,” Trump said, describing European countries as the “first line of defence”.

“We have people waiting in another room, right now, they’re all here from Europe,” Trump added. “Biggest people in Europe. And they want to give protection. They feel very strongly about it, and we’ll help them out with that.”

Trump also said that US support for Ukraine would continue regardless of the outcome of the talks.

“It’s never the end of the road. People are being killed, and we want to stop that. So, I would not say it was the end of the road. I think we have a good chance of doing it,” he said.

Zelenskyy hailed the pledge as “a major step forward”.

He later told reporters that Ukraine had offered to buy about $90bn worth of US weapons.

Zelenskyy says he’s open to elections in Ukraine, if safe

Zelenskyy backed elections, provided they are held under safe circumstances.

“Yes, of course. We are open, yes… We need to work in the parliament because during the war, you can’t have elections, but we can, we can do security,” Zelenskyy said.

“We need a truce… to make it possible for people to do democratic, open, legal, legal elections,” he added.

Trump says ceasefire not needed

When asked if he would carry out his promise from last week to impose “severe consequences” on Russia if it does not end the war, Trump replied that a ceasefire may not be needed.

“I don’t think you need a ceasefire,” Trump said.

“You know, if you look at the six deals that I settled this year, they were all at war. I didn’t do any ceasefires. And I know that it might be good to have, but I can also understand strategically why one country or the other wouldn’t want it,” he said.

“But we can work a deal where we’re working on a peace deal while they’re fighting,” Trump added.

“They have to fight. I wish they could stop.”

Trump has claimed credit for helping to end six wars, including conflicts between India and Pakistan and Cambodia and Thailand.

Ukraine needs ‘everything’ related to security guarantees: Zelenskyy

Asked what guarantees Zelenskyy would need from Trump to agree to a deal, the Ukrainian leader responded: “everything”.

“It includes two parts. First, a strong Ukrainian army that I began to discuss with your colleagues, and it’s a lot about weapons and people and training issues and intelligence,” Zelenskyy said.

Today, important negotiations took place in Washington. We discussed many issues with President Trump. It was a long and detailed conversation, including discussions about the situation on the battlefield and our steps to bring peace closer. There were also several meetings in a… pic.twitter.com/YqkdRlyKCI

— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) August 19, 2025

Trump sits down with European leaders

After his initial meeting with Zelenskyy, Trump held a multilateral meeting with the Ukrainian leader and European leaders, including European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, French President Emmanuel Macron and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

The US president described it as an “honour” to convene with them at the White House, saying they were united in their goal of ending Russia’s war in Ukraine.

“We’ve had a very successful day thus far, and important discussions as we work to end the killing and stop the war in Ukraine,” Trump said.

President Trump and President Zelenskyy en route to meet with the European leaders pic.twitter.com/EHvttm7nDl

— Margo Martin (@MargoMartin47) August 18, 2025

Trump will seek summit between Zelenskyy and Putin

“At the conclusion of the meetings, I called President Putin and began the arrangements for a meeting, at a location to be determined, between President Putin and President Zelenskyy,” he wrote in a post on Truth Social after the talks.

Trump said Russia agreed to accept security guarantees for Ukraine

“This is one of the key points that we need to consider, and we’re going to be considering that at the table,” Trump said.

He expressed optimism that, collectively, an agreement could be reached to deter further aggression against Ukraine.

Putin-Zelenskyy discussions will likely involve Ukraine ceding territory

Trump also said discussions would need to address the possible exchange of territory.

“Ultimately, this is a decision that can only be made by President Zelenskyy and by the people of Ukraine, working also in agreement with President Putin,” Trump said.

Russia controls about one-fifth of Ukraine, according to open-source estimates. Ukraine, which took control of a large swath of Russia’s Kursk region during a surprise counter-offensive last year, is not believed to hold any Russian territory at present.

Trump added that he expected Putin to release Ukrainian prisoners soon.

European leaders lay out positions

• NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said the priority must be to stop the killing, as well as the destruction of Ukraine’s infrastructure, thanking Trump for having “broken the deadlock”.
• European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the focus must be on a “just and lasting peace for Ukraine”, and added: “Every single child has to go back to its family,” referring to the forced removal of Ukrainian children to Russia and Belarus.
• German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said he “can’t imagine that the next meeting would take place without a ceasefire”, urging allies to “work on that and try to put pressure on Russia”.
• Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni stressed that one of the most important issues is security guarantees and “how to be sure that it won’t happen again, which is the precondition of every kind of peace”.
• French President Emmanuel Macron said the aim must be a “robust and longstanding peace”, and called the idea of a trilateral meeting “very important because this is the only way to fix it”. He also suggested that “we will need boots on the ground” to secure peace.

Everybody around this table is in favor of peace. pic.twitter.com/F7wYi8MQ8M

— Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) August 18, 2025

• UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the talks were not just about Ukraine but “the security of Europe and the United Kingdom as well, which is why this is such an important issue”.
• Finnish President Alexander Stubb said the gathering itself was “symbolic, in the sense that it’s Team Europe and Team United States helping Ukraine”. Noting Finland’s long border with Russia, he added: “We found a solution in 1944, and I’m sure that we’ll be able to find a solution in 2025 to end Russia’s war of aggression, find and get a lasting, just peace.”

What’s next?

European Council leaders will hold a video call tomorrow to review Monday’s talks, President Antonio Costa said.

In a post on X, Costa said the call would take place at 1pm Brussels time (11:00 GMT) on Tuesday.

United States President Donald Trump has announced plans to convene a face-to-face summit between Russian leader Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in his latest bid to end Moscow’s war in Ukraine.

Trump’s proposal on Monday came as he hosted Zelenskyy and top European leaders, including French President Emmanuel Macron and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, at the White House for high-stakes talks on ending the conflict, which has raged since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Trump said he had “begun arrangements” for the summit after speaking with Putin by phone, and that he would hold a trilateral meeting with his Russian and Ukrainian counterparts following their two-way meeting.

“Again, this was a very good, early step for a War that has been going on for almost four years,” Trump said on his Truth Social platform.

“Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, are coordinating with Russia and Ukraine.”

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte separately confirmed that Putin had agreed to the bilateral meeting, but did not specify a date or location.

Zelenskyy, who described his meeting with Trump as a “very good conversation,” told reporters that he was “ready” to meet the Russian leader one-on-one.

Moscow did not immediately confirm that it had agreed to a summit, but Russia’s state-run TASS news agency cited presidential aide Yuri Ushakov as saying that Putin and Trump “spoke in favour of continuing direct talks” between the Russian and Ukrainian delegations.

The proposals for a summit, which would be the first meeting between Putin and Zelenskyy since Moscow’s invasion, came as the fraught issue of security guarantees for Ukraine took centre stage during the talks at the White House.

The specifics of what those guarantees would look like remained unclear on Monday.

Asked if the US could send peacekeepers to Ukraine, Trump said that European countries would be the “first line of defence”, but that Washington would provide “a lot of help”.

“We’re going to help them out also, we’re going to be involved,” Trump said.

Trump said on Truth Social later that discussions had focused on which security guarantees would be provided by European countries with “coordination” by the US.

Zelenskyy said that the guarantees would be “unpacked” by Kyiv’s partners and formalised within the next week to 10 days.

While Trump has ruled out NATO membership for Ukraine, his special envoy, Witkoff, said on Sunday that Putin was open to a security guarantee resembling the 32-member alliance’s collective defence mandate.

Under Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty, an armed attack against any one NATO member nation is considered an attack on all members of the alliance.

Speaking on Fox News after Monday’s talks, Rutte called Washington’s commitment to be involved in guaranteeing Ukraine’s security a “breakthrough”, but said the exact nature of that involvement would be discussed over the coming days.

Rutte said the discussions had not touched on the possibility of deploying US or European troops.

“What we all agree on is that if this war does come to end… it has to be definitive – that Russia will never, ever, ever again try to get a catch a square mile of territory of Ukraine post a peace deal,” Rutte said.

Konstantin Sonin, a Russian exile and Putin critic who is a professor at the University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy, said that meaningful security guarantees for Kyiv would need to include European troops on the ground.

“This is all ‘unacceptable’ to Putin, so for European leaders, it is the question how to persuade President Trump that without such guarantees, the war, even if it stops now, will start again in the near future,” Sonin told Al Jazeera.

Sonin said that Ukraine had been failed by “written” guarantees for decades, including during Moscow’s 2014 invasion and occupation of Crimea.

“Russia has signed many international treaties recognising Ukraine’s sovereignty and borders – including Putin himself signing one such treaty in 2004 – and still violated all of these treaties, both in 2014 and 2022,” Sonin said.

“This is all to say that the sticking point is not the language in some documents,” he added.

The issue of what territory Kyiv might be asked to give up in a peace deal also remained unclear after the talks at the White House.

Ahead of the meeting, Trump warned that the return to Ukraine of Russian-occupied Crimea would be off the table in any negotiated settlement.

Trump has indicated that a deal to end the war would involve “some swapping, changes in land” between Russia and Ukraine.

Russia controls about one-fifth of Ukraine, according to open-source estimates. Ukraine, which took control of a large swath of Russia’s Kursk region during a surprise counter-offensive last year, is not believed to hold any Russian territory at present.

Speaking on Fox News, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said both Moscow and Kyiv would have to make concessions for a deal.

“Obviously, land or where you draw those lines – where the war stops – is going to be part of that conversation,” Rubio said.

“And it’s not easy, and maybe it’s not even fair, but it’s what it takes in order to bring about an end to a war. And that’s been true in every war.”

Zelenskyy, who has repeatedly ruled out handing over Ukrainian territory to Moscow, said on Monday that land would be an issue for him and Putin to work out between them.

“We will leave the issue of territories between me and Putin,” Zelenskyy told reporters.

According to United States President Donald Trump, it is possible to end the war in Ukraine – all that is needed is Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s agreement.

But for Zelenskyy, agreeing to anything that means losing territory to Russia is not only difficult, but may be impossible under Ukraine’s constitution.

Several European leaders are joining Zelenskyy in Washington, DC for his crucial talks with Trump – after the US leader’s recent summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska.

There are reports of a possible deal on offer.

But is it possible for Zelenskyy to agree to a deal without ceding any land to Russia?

And what does it all say about Europe’s position in the world?

Presenter: Adrian Finighan

Guests: 

Peter Zalmayev – Executive director of the Eurasia Democracy Initiative

Jean-Marc Rickli – Head of Global and Emerging Risks at the Geneva Centre for Security Policy

Mattia Nelles – CEO and co-founder of the German-Ukrainian Bureau think tank

The much-anticipated summit between the leaders of Russia and United States concluded without a deal to end the war in Ukraine.

Despite this, US President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin say “great progress” was made at “constructive” talks in Alaska.

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was not invited. Instead, after a lengthy phone call with President Trump, he’s heading to the White House on Monday.

So, were ceasefire options discussed behind closed doors?

Could an end to the war finally be in sight?

And what does the summit mean for Russian-American relations?

Presenter: Adrian Finighan

Guests:

Andrei Fedorov – Former deputy foreign minister of Russia

Thomas Pickering – Former US ambassador to Russia and the United Nations

Oleksiy Goncharenko – Politician and member of the Ukrainian parliament

STRICKEN Ukraine will be forced to surrender large swathes of its eastern territory and forget about ever joining Nato under peace terms haggled by Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin.

The war-torn country’s desire to join the European Union is also in doubt after the two superpower presidents held controversial talks in Alaska on Friday.

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Ukraine would be outlawed from joining the Western defence alliance, but have its redrawn borders underwritten by its US and European allies in the terms suggested by the White House.

Allies have offered “ironclad” security assurances to protect Ukraine from future Russian aggression if a peace deal can be forged.

But it would stop short of Nato Article 5 status, which sees members of the alliance leap to the aid of any member that is attacked.

Ukraine’s desire to join Nato has been blamed as a root cause of President Putin’s invasion.

He has insisted “Nyet” — Russian for “No” — over the proposal.

But the future security of Ukraine is the number one condition of its president, Volodymyr Zelensky.

British and other European troops could be committed to police the peace, with President Trump finally conceding the Americans would play a vital role in the future defence of Ukraine.

Last night, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz publicly stated: “The good news is that America is ready to participate in such security guarantees and is not leaving it to the Europeans alone.”

And PM Sir Keir Starmer said Mr Trump’s “leadership in pursuit of an end to the killing” should be commended.

Calls for an immediate ceasefire were dropped by world leaders yesterday, after Mr Trump announced he was instead pursuing a more stable and lasting “peace deal”.

Plans haggled at Friday’s face-to-face summit are being circulated by the Americans after the US President and the Kremlin tyrant met each other in Anchorage, Alaska, for more than three hours.

The Sun has been told a surrender deal would see Ukraine forced to reject Nato membership and other “multinational deals”.

Negotiations would also begin about ceding control of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions of Eastern Ukraine which are, in part, heavily occupied by Russian troops.

There was confusion last night over whether the talks would focus on territory currently held by the Kremlin invaders, or whether the wider regions were on the table.

Yesterday, EU leaders insisted: “Russia cannot have a veto against Ukraine’s pathway to EU and Nato.”

However, that does not rule out Mr Zelensky deciding to withdraw Ukraine’s stated aim to join both alliances as part of the wider deal.

He will fly to Washington DC on Monday to meet with President Trump at the White House — six months after their disastrous Oval Office bust up, which saw the leader of the free world savage Mr Zelensky live on TV.

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Russia has long claimed Donetsk and Luhansk are more loyal to Moscow than Kyiv, while Mr Zelensky has publicly ruled out giving up the land.

However, he is under massive pressure to concede and end the bloody three-and-a-half year conflict, which has seen more than a million deaths.

European leaders were locked in talks with the White House this weekend, as the world scrambled to catch up with what Mr Trump had offered Mr Putin to end the war.

Last night, UK government sources said the PM was playing a key role in selling the terms of the deal to wider Western allies in a series of calls following the talks between the Americans and Russians.

I welcome the openness of the United States, alongside Europe, to provide robust security guarantees to Ukraine as part of any deal. This is important progress and will be crucial in deterring Putin from coming back for more

Sir Keir Starmer’s statement

President Trump yesterday insisted it is time for Mr Zelensky to choose whether to agree with the terms of the deal — as the pair prepared to meet tomorrow.

The White House has also offered to play host to a trilateral summit between the Russians and Ukrainians if the deal is within reach.

Speaking following Friday’s talks, where he met with his Russian counterpart for the first time in six years, President Trump insisted it was “a great and very successful day in Alaska!”

He wrote on his Truth Social website: “The meeting with President Vladimir Putin of Russia went very well, as did a late night phone call with President Zelensky of Ukraine, and various European Leaders, including the highly respected Secretary General of Nato.

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“It was determined by all that the best way to end the horrific war between Russia and Ukraine is to go directly to a Peace Agreement, which would end the war, and not a mere Ceasefire Agreement, which often times do not hold up. President Zelensky will be coming to D.C., the Oval Office, on Monday afternoon. If all works out, we will then schedule a meeting with President Putin.

“Potentially, millions of people’s lives will be saved. Thank you for your attention to this matter!”

Last night, President Putin also welcomed progress made at the talks, after leaving the summit without taking questions from hundreds of assembled journalists.

In a televised address released by the Kremlin, he said: “The conversation was very frank, substantive, and, in my opinion, brings us closer to the necessary decisions.”

He added: “We have not had direct negotiations of this kind at this level for a long time. We had the opportunity to calmly and in detail reiterate our position.”

We are clear that Ukraine must have ironclad security guarantees to effectively defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity. No limitations should be placed on Ukraine’s armed forces or on its cooperation with third countries. Russia cannot have a veto against Ukraine‘s pathway to EU and NATO

European statement

In a long statement, President Zelensky welcomed the offer of security guarantees outlined by Mr Trump, in a tentative sign he may be willing to sign up to the terms.

He wrote: “A real peace must be achieved, one that will be lasting, not just another pause between Russian invasions. Killings must stop as soon as possible, the fire must cease both on the battlefield and in the sky, as well as against our port infrastructure.

“All Ukrainian prisoners of war and civilians must be released, and the children abducted by Russia must be returned.

“Thousands of our people remain in captivity — they all must be brought home. Pressure on Russia must be maintained while the aggression and occupation continue.”

He went on: “In my conversation with President Trump, I said that sanctions should be strengthened if there is no trilateral meeting or if Russia tries to evade an honest end to the war. Sanctions are an effective tool.

“Security must be guaranteed reliably and in the long term, with involvement of Europe and the US.

“All issues important to Ukraine must be discussed with Ukraine’s participation, and no issue, particularly territorial ones, can be decided without Ukraine. I thank our partners who are helping.”

Yesterday the PM was taking part in a round of behind the scenes diplomacy, speaking to the White House and European capitals.

He heaped praise on Mr Trump, saying his “efforts have brought us closer than ever before to ending Russia’s illegal war in Ukraine”.

He went on: “His leadership in pursuit of an end to the killing should be commended.”

But the PM warned: “While progress has been made, the next step must be further talks involving President Zelensky.

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The path to peace in Ukraine cannot be decided without him. I spoke to President Zelensky, President Trump and other European partners, and we all stand ready to support this next phase.

“I welcome the openness of the United States, alongside Europe, to provide robust security guarantees to Ukraine as part of any deal.

“This is important progress and will be crucial in deterring Putin from coming back for more.

“In the meantime, until he stops his barbaric assault, we will keep tightening the screws on his war machine with even more sanctions, which have already had a punishing impact on the Russian economy and its people. Our unwavering support for Ukraine will continue as long as it takes.”

In a joint statement, Sir Keir and European leaders including France’s Emmanuel Macron and Italy’s Giorgia Meloni, said: “We are clear Ukraine must have ironclad security guarantees to effectively defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity.

“No limitations should be placed on Ukraine’s armed forces or on its cooperation with third countries.

Russia cannot have a veto against Ukraine‘s pathway to EU and Nato.

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Priti: Trump was right to set up meeting

By Sophia Sleigh

DONALD Trump was right to bring Vladimir Putin to the negotiating table on Friday, says Dame Priti Patel.

The Shadow Foreign Secretary gave her support to the US President’s efforts — while adding that Britain must keep up “tightening the screws” on the Russian tyrant’s regime.

The Tory grandee told The Sun on Sunday: “It is right President Trump has brought Putin to the negotiating table.

“And we support his efforts in ending Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine.

“Now is the time for the Euro-Atlantic partnership to be stronger than ever in supporting Ukraine, and forcing Putin to end his barbaric war.

“The British government must lead the charge, as we have done, in keeping pressure on Putin through sanctions — and demonstrate we can lead efforts to support Ukraine, and tighten the screws on Russia.”

But others had concerns that no ceasefire had been reached yesterday — even with Mr Trump having warned Putin of “severe consequences” if fighting did not stop.

Former Tory leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith said: “Trump has to tell him to agree to a ceasefire or he will up the ante on sanctions, secondary sanctions and weapons to Ukraine. Putin has to fear what Trump can do — more than his own generals and politicians who would come after him.”

He added that Trump “must understand who Putin is, a KGB man who has one purpose in life — to recreate the Soviet Union”.

Former PM Boris Johnson also said that Trump was right to make a move as Putin was weaker than he seemed owing to the war’s damage to Russia’s economy.

Most Labour MPs remained quiet on the talks. Crossbench peer and intelligence expert Lord Peter Ricketts said they were a “clear win” for Putin.

In the lead-up to his much-touted Friday summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin, United States President Donald Trump expressed confidence in his ability to make concrete progress towards securing a ceasefire in Ukraine at the meeting.

Putin received the red carpet treatment as he was met with a lengthy handshake by Trump as he deplaned at the Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson military facility in the Alaskan city of Anchorage.

The warm greeting set a congenial tone for what were always going to be tough negotiations. But there was a more subdued atmosphere a few hours later as Trump and Putin departed on their respective planes – with no clear breakthrough on the war in Ukraine.

Here are some key takeaways from their meeting:

‘No deal until there’s a deal’

While the meeting was anticipated to take about seven hours, it wrapped up in less than three. Trump and Putin addressed a gathering of journalists after the talks with relatively brief pre-prepared statements. Neither leader took any questions.

Putin said his country is committed to ending the war, but the conflict’s “primary causes” must be eliminated for an agreement to be long-lasting.

Putin also warned Ukraine and the European Union against throwing a “wrench in the works” and cautioned against attempts to use “backroom dealings to conduct provocations to torpedo the nascent progress”.

A relatively subdued Trump praised the “extremely productive meeting”, in which he said “many points were agreed to”. He said there is a “very good chance of getting there” – referring to a ceasefire – but conceded that there remain sticking points with Moscow, including at least one “significant” one.

He cautioned that it’s “ultimately up to them” – referring to Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. “There’s no deal until there’s a deal,” he said.

And there was none by the time Trump and Putin left Alaska.

A PR coup for Putin

The Russian leader has become an increasingly maligned and isolated figure in the West since waging war on Ukraine in February 2022.

But on Friday, that ended, with a red carpet welcome, a flypast by US fighter jets and warm applause from Trump.

Putin himself seemed pleased, grinning out the window as he drove off the tarmac with Trump in the presidential Cadillac limousine known as “The Beast”.

“For three years they [Western media] have been talking about Russia’s isolation, and today they saw the red carpet that greeted the Russian president in the United States,” Maria Zakharova, spokesperson for the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, gloated after the summit, on Telegram.

Talking business

Before the meeting, it was widely anticipated that Putin would attempt to dilute peace talks with talk of bilateral trade and cooperation.

Trump had asserted that there would be no discussion of business with Putin until the pair had made substantive progress on bringing about a ceasefire in Ukraine.

This plan, however, seems to have been derailed somewhat, with the Russian president saying in his post-meeting statement that the pair discussed their collaboration in the areas of tech and space.

“It’s clear that US and Russian investment and business cooperation has tremendous potential. Russia and the US can offer each other so much. In trade, digital, high-tech and in space exploration, [and] we see that Arctic cooperation is also very possible,” he told reporters.

Russia has previously tried to pitch its vast reserves of rare earth minerals – critical for several cutting edge sectors – to the US to broker a breakthrough.

Next up: Another meeting – and pressure on Ukraine

As Trump thanked Putin for his time, he said he hoped they would meet again soon. Putin quickly responded by saying, in English with a laugh, “Next time, in Moscow”.

“I’ll get a little heat on that one, but I could see it possibly happening,” he said in response.

Trump has previously asserted that he hopes to host a trilateral meeting on ending the war in Ukraine very soon, this time attended by Ukraine’s Zelenskyy, too. In Alaska, the US leader said he would now call NATO officials and Zelenskyy to discuss the meeting.

In an interview with Fox News’ Sean Hannity after the meeting, Trump was asked how he rated the summit on a scale of 10. He described the meet as a “10 out of 10”.

“We got along great,” he said.

Then, he emphasised the importance of the Ukrainian leader agreeing to a deal.

“Now, it’s really up to President Zelenskyy to get it done. And I would also say the European nations, they have to get involved a little bit. But it’s up to President Zelenskyy,” he said, adding that he’ll attend the next meeting “if they’d like”.

“Make a deal,” he said, in a message apparently for Zelenskyy.

US President Donald Trump’s meeting with Russia’s Vladimir Putin ended in Alaska without a deal on halting Moscow’s war on Ukraine, but it did give the Russian president a “diplomatic win” after years of being shunned by the West, observers said.

The Russian president was greeted with a red carpet and a warm handshake from President Trump on arrival at a US airbase in Anchorage, Alaska, on Friday as both leaders arrived for talks aimed at ending the war in Ukraine.

It marked President Putin’s first time stepping on Western soil since he ordered the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 and was notable in its welcoming atmosphere compared with the frosty reception a hostile Trump laid on for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the White House in February.

Taking to a stage to deliver remarks after they spoke behind closed doors for less than three hours, the two leaders said they had made progress on unspecified issues, offering no details and taking no questions from a phalanx of assembled international reporters and television cameras.

A visibly upbeat Putin was the first to speak, telling how he had greeted Trump on his arrival in Anchorage with the lines: “Good afternoon, dear neighbour”, owing to the geographic closeness of Alaska to Russia.

“We are close neighbours, and it’s a fact,” Putin said.

Putin said his meeting with Trump was “long overdue” and that he “hoped the agreement that we’ve reached together will help us bring close that goal and will pave the path towards peace in Ukraine “.

“We expect that Kyiv and European capitals will perceive that constructively and that they won’t throw a wrench in the works,” Putin said. “They will not make any attempts to use some backroom dealings to conduct provocations to torpedo the nascent progress,” he said.

Trump then thanked Putin for his “very profound” statement, adding that the two had a “very productive meeting “.

“There were many, many points that we agreed on. Most of them, I would say. A couple of big ones that we haven’t quite got there, but we’ve made some headway,” Trump said.

“So there is no deal until there is a deal,” Trump said, adding that he will now call up NATO as well as President Zelenskyy and others to brief them on the meeting.

“It’s ultimately up to them,” the president said.

“Many points were agreed to,” he continued, without providing any details.

“There are just a very few that are left; some are not that significant, one is probably the most significant,” Trump said without elaborating.

“But we have a very good chance of getting there. We didn’t get there, but we have a very good chance of getting there.”

There was no immediate reaction from Kyiv to the outcome of the summit, described as “anticlimactic”.

Ukraine’s opposition lawmaker Oleksiy Honcharenko said on the Telegram messaging app after the talks: “It seems Putin has bought himself more time. No ceasefire or de-escalation has been agreed upon.”

Al Jazeera’s Kimberly Halkett, reporting from Anchorage, Alaska, said President Trump is likely to come in for criticism for a summit that “all became much ado about nothing”.

“The only achievements that were actually made was that the Russian president has been able to continue his war, which we know is now a war of attrition and which each day favours the Russian side,” Halkett said.

“He has bought time,” she said.

Also reporting from the summit, Al Jazeera’s diplomatic editor, James Bays, said Ukraine’s European allies – who had been pushing for concrete steps to come out of the meeting, such as a ceasefire – will likely see the meeting as “a big win for President Putin”.

“And it does beg all sorts of questions about where the diplomacy on Ukraine goes,” Bays said.

Trump ended his remarks at the news conference on Friday by telling Putin, “I’d like to thank you very much, and we’ll speak to you very soon and probably see you again very soon.”

To which Putin quickly chipped back: “Next time, in Moscow.”

Trump then responded, saying that he might “get a little heat on that one” but that he could “possibly see it happening”.

US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin greeted each other today at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska — their first in-person encounter since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

US President Trump and Russian President Putin began talks on the war in Ukraine at a US military base in Anchorage, Alaska, meeting with aides in front of a “Pursuing Peace” backdrop. They ignored reporters’ questions during a photo opportunity ahead of a joint press conference.

US President Donald Trump says he and Russian President Vladimir Putin made progress during three hours of talks in Alaska to resolve the Russia-Ukraine war, but that there’s “no deal.”. Putin said they are “ready to work” on outstanding issues.

A LIP reader has revealed Vladimir Putin’s pledge to Donald Trump as the two leaders met in Alaska.

The US President greeted his Russian counterpart on the tarmac at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson Air Base on Friday.

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The pair went on to address the world in a brief press conference and negotiate with their teams in private, but they also shared words in front of cameras that couldn’t be heard.

That hidden speech can tell us a lot about their pair’s relationship and hint at what could be happening behind closed doors.

Forensic lipreader Nicola Hickling has now revealed what the powerful men said when they greeted each other airport.

The world’s eyes were on the moment when Putin walked towards Trump to shake hands.

Putin looked relaxed as he walked down a red carpet towards Trump – giving the US leader a thumbs-up before greeting him with a warm handshake.

Trump begins clapping as Putin approaches and the American says: “Finally,” according to Hickling.

Hickling then said that as the pair shook hands Trump added: “You made it, fantastic to see you and appreciated.”

The pair then appear to begin talking about Ukraine and the bringing the fighting to an end with a ceasefire.

Putin responds in English, saying: “Thank you — and you.”

He also makes a pledge to Trump: “I am here to help you.”

Trump replies: “I’ll help you.”

Pointing towards Trump, Putin says: “All they need is to ask.”

Trump answers simply: “Okay.”

Putin continues: “I will bring it to a rest.”

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Trump responds: “I hope it does.”

Turning towards the vehicle, Hickling said Trump smiles and says: “Come on, let’s get straight into the vehicle. We need to move forward, both giving it attention. I know this is serious, it’s quite long. What a journey it is.”

Trump salutes and says: “Thank you.”

On the podium, Trump says: “Thank you. Let’s shake hands — it gives a good impression.”

Putin nods in agreement, shakes his hand, and says: “Thank you.”

The pair then shared a moment alone in Trump’s presidential limo – known as The Beast – which drove them to the summit venue.

They were then next seen when they posed for photos in front of the press to record the historic moment.

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But the photocall descended into chaos when the journalists started shouting at Trump and the tyrant – who doesn’t face that sort of opposition in Russia.

Hickling said that Trump noticed Putin wasn’t happy with a question or remark made.

The American leans in to his aide, according to the lipreader, and whispers: “I’m uncomfortable, we need to move them quickly.”

Putin then makes a face after being on the receiving end of the aggressive questioning.

Hickling said the Russian tells a reporter: “You is ignorant.” 

Then, as he cups his hands to his mouth to shout above the chaos, he says again: “You are ignorant.”

After nearly three hours of talks in Alaska, the US president said the pair “agreed on some big points” they said in a brief press conferece.

There was a lot of flattery between the pair as they spoke in front of the world.

Hickling’s analysis of the chumminess between the pair out of range of the microphones suggests that there could possibly be a real relationship between the pair, despite the geopolitical differences.

What was the outcome of the historic peace talks?

Following the historic talks, Donald Trump said there is still disagreement, adding: “There is no deal until there is a deal” and “we didn’t get there” despite progress.

Trump said he would “making some calls” to European leaders and Volodymyr Zelensky soon – and added “we have a very good chance of reaching a deal”.

Vladimir Putin says he is “sincerely interested” in ending the conflict, which he called a “tragedy.”

He insists Russia must eliminate the “primary causes” of the war – a Kremlin talking point he has been saying since the start of the conflict.

Putin invited Trump to hold a next meeting in Moscow.

“We’ll speak to you very soon and probably see you again very soon,” Trump said.

“Next time in Moscow,” Putin replied.

“That’s an interesting one,” Trump laughed.

“I’ll get a little heat on that one, but I could see it possibly happening.”

United States President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin are set to meet in Anchorage, Alaska, on Friday in a bid to try and end Russia’s three-year assault on Ukraine.

In the run-up to the meeting, Trump said that he believes Putin is ready to agree to a ceasefire. But his suggestion that Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy could “divvy things up” has alarmed observers in Kyiv.

For their part, remarks from top Russian officials suggest that Moscow has tried to water down discussions about the war by linking them with other bilateral issues, particularly restoring economic ties with the US.

On Thursday, Putin sat down with top officials at the Kremlin to discuss the Alaska meeting. He said that he believed the US was making “sincere efforts to stop the fighting, end the crisis and reach agreements of interest to all parties involved in this conflict”.

Earlier on Thursday, Yuri Ushakov, one of Putin’s top foreign policy aides, told reporters about Russia’s preparations for the talks. He said it was “obvious to everyone that the central topic will be the settlement of the Ukraine crisis”.

“An exchange of views is expected on the further development of bilateral cooperation, including in the trade and economic sphere,” he said, pointing out that: “I would like to note that this cooperation has a huge and, unfortunately, untapped potential.”

Ushakov also announced that in addition to Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, Russia’s delegation in Alaska would also include the country’s finance minister, Anton Siluanov, and Kirill Dmitriev, Putin’s envoy on foreign investment and economic cooperation.

The inclusion of Siluanov and Dmitriev is another sign that the Kremlin hoped to discuss economic matters at the summit.

What does Russia-US trade look like?

In 2021, before Russia’s full-fledged invasion of Ukraine, total trade between Russia and the US amounted to $36.1bn. This included $6.4bn in US exports to Russia, and $29.7bn in US imports from Russia – amounting to a US trade deficit of $23.3bn.

For context, Russia was America’s 30th largest trade partner in 2021. Since then, after numerous rounds of American sanctions, trade between Russia and the US has fallen roughly 90 percent.

Incidentally, Russia’s overall trade balance – leaving the US – declined significantly following its decision to invade Ukraine. From 2022 to 2023, its international balance of payments fell by a whopping 70 percent, to just $86.3bn.

But back in 2021, Russia’s trade surplus with the US was concentrated almost exclusively in commodities. Oil, minerals and base metals like iron and steel made up roughly 75 percent of Russia’s exports. Meanwhile, US exports to Russia were concentrated in manufactured goods.

Were Russian exports to the US vital?

The short answer is no.

By the time Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, the US – whose energy sector was transformed by hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling in the early 2000s – was already the world’s largest oil producer, at 11.9 million barrels of oil per day.

One area where Russia did hold limited significance was in certain types of energy products. Russia supplied certain grades of crude oil – notably Urals – as well as refined products like vacuum gas oil (VGO), residual fuel oil and naphtha.

Russian VGO was especially important for making gasoline and diesel products in US refineries, which lacked enough domestic feedstock with the optimal chemical and physical properties.

Elsewhere, the US continues to import limited quantities of uranium hexafluoride, a chemical important in uranium processing, from Russia. Some US utility companies still have supply contracts with Russia, which accounted for about one-third of America’s enriched uranium needs when war broke out.

As with energy products, however, American firms exposed to Russian uranium supplies have readjusted their supply chains in response to sanctions. What’s more, US companies like X-energy and Orano have invested heavily in domestic production in recent years.

Does Russia have any other leverage?

In the wake of sanctions after February 2022, most Russian commodity shipments were rerouted from Western countries to China at discounted prices, including for energy products and uranium.

Indeed, trade between China and Russia has grown in parallel with sanctions on Russia. A common border, shared geopolitical perspectives and joint opposition to the US have deepened bilateral relations.

Russia-China trade saw annual growth of nearly 30 percent in both 2022 and 2023, when it hit $240.1bn, according to the Centre for European Policy Analysis. In 2024, Russia climbed to 7th place among China’s trading partners, up from 13th place in 2020.

During that time, China has supplied Russia with more high-end products – like advanced electronics and industrial machinery – while Moscow has solidified its position as a top supplier of oil and gas to Beijing.

What’s more, the two countries conduct regular naval exercises and strategic bomber patrols together. The US has consistently expressed concerns over joint military drills and views the China-Russia alignment as a threat to its global leadership role.

Putin will be aware of these dynamics heading into Friday’s meeting.

What else could Putin offer Trump?

In March, Putin’s investment envoy – Kirill Dmitriev – claimed that Russia and the US had started talks on rare earth metals projects in Russia, and that some American companies had already expressed an interest in them.

“Rare earth metals are an important area for cooperation, and, of course, we have begun discussions on various rare earth metals and (other) projects in Russia,” Dmitriev told the Izvestia newspaper.

China’s almost total global control over the production of critical minerals – used in everything from defence equipment to consumer electronics – has focused Washington’s attention on developing its own supplies.

The US Geological Survey estimates Russia’s reserves of rare earth metals at 3.8 million tonnes, but Moscow has far higher estimates.

According to the Natural Resources Ministry, Russia has reserves of 15 rare earth metals totalling 28.7 million tonnes, as of January 2023.

But even accounting for the margin of error hanging over Russia’s potential rare earth supplies, it would still only account for a tiny fraction of global stockpiles.

As such, the US has been pursuing minerals-for-security deals with the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Ukraine in recent months, in an effort to wrestle control of the global supply chain away from China.

It may try and do the same with Russia.

What does Russia want from these meetings?

Since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, Western countries have imposed 21,692 sanctions on Russia, mostly against individuals.

Key sanctions on Moscow include import bans on Russian oil, a price cap on Russian fuel, and the freezing of Russian central bank assets held in European financial institutions.

But on July 14, Trump threatened to impose so-called secondary sanctions, that if carried out, would mark a notable shift.

Since then, he has targeted India – the second biggest buyer of Russian oil – by doubling a 25 percent tariff on its goods to 50 percent, as a penalty for that trade with Moscow. So far, Trump has not imposed similar secondary tariffs on China, the largest consumer of Russian oil.

But he has suggested that Beijing could face such tariffs in the future, as the US tries to pressure countries to stop buying Russian crude, and thereby corner Putin into accepting a ceasefire.

Members of Trump’s administration have also indicated that if the Trump-Putin talks in Alaska don’t go well, the tariffs on India could be increased further.

Meanwhile, lawmakers from both US political parties are pushing for a bill – the Sanctioning Russia Act of 2025 – that would also target countries buying Russian oil and gas.

The bill would give Trump the authority to impose 500 percent tariffs on any country that helps Russia. US senators are reportedly waiting on Trump’s OK to move the bill forward.

In Alaska, Putin is expected to demand that Western sanctions on Russia be eased in exchange for Moscow agreeing to any peace deal.

United States President Donald Trump and Russia’s President Vladimir Putin are set to meet in Anchorage, Alaska, on Friday in a bid to find common ground that could lead to a lasting ceasefire deal in Russia’s three-year-long war on Ukraine.

The highly anticipated meeting is the latest in Trump’s numerous, but so far unsuccessful, attempts to end the Ukraine war and keep the promises he made on the campaign trail last year, when he claimed he would end the conflict within 24 hours if elected.

It also marks the first time in a decade that Putin will visit the US, as well as the first-ever visit of a Russian leader to Alaska.

While President Trump has tried to downplay expectations ahead of the meeting, he also warned on Thursday that Russia could face “serious consequences” if Putin did not agree to a ceasefire.

Here’s what to know about the Alaska meeting:

When and where are Trump and Putin meeting?

Both leaders will meet at the US military’s Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska.

The time of the meeting is scheduled for about 11:30am Alaska time (19:30 GMT), although this could change.

Accompanying Russian delegation members include: Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, Defence Minister Andrei Belousov, Finance Minister Anton Siluanov, Presidential Aide Yuri Ushakov, and Special Presidential Envoy on Foreign Investment and Economic Cooperation Kirill Dmitriev.

It is not yet clear who will accompany Trump for the meeting from the US side.

Are Zelenskyy and European leaders attending?

No, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will not attend the Alaska meeting, nor will European leaders.

Asked why Zelenskyy was not at the table, Trump chided the Ukrainian president at a White House news briefing on August 11, saying that Zelenskyy had ruled for three years and “nothing happened” in terms of ending the war.

“I would say he could go, but he’s gone to a lot of meetings,” Trump said.

Analyst Neil Melvin of the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), a London-based think tank, said Europe was essentially an observer in a matter that could determine its fate because it lacked leverage. “​European leaders have been relegated to the margins with the [European Union] seen by Trump and Putin as largely irrelevant,” he said.

Ahead of the meeting, on Wednesday, Trump, alongside US Vice President JD Vance, held a virtual meeting with Zelenskyy and other European leaders. Analysts say it was a final attempt on the part of the Europeans to steer the meeting in Ukraine’s favour.

Zelenskyy joined the virtual meeting from Berlin. Other leaders who attended were from Germany, the United Kingdom, Italy, Finland and Poland. European Commission head Ursula von der Leyen and NATO chief Mark Rutte were also present.

What’s the significance of Alaska as the venue?

Alaska, which is located northwest of the US mainland, is the closest point at which Russia and the US are neighbours. The US state is closer to Russia than it is to the US mainland. On the Russian side, it is closest to the autonomous Chukotka district.

Originally inhabited by Indigenous Americans, the region was first colonised by the old Russian empire in the 18th century. Due to the high costs of maintaining the faraway location, Moscow sold Alaska to the US in 1867 for $7.2m, the equivalent of $162m today. Russian influence still abounds in the region, visible in the Russian Orthodox churches still present, and even in the Russian surnames of some Alaskans.

The Elmendorf-Richardson base, where the meeting will be held, is also significant: It was originally an air force base built in 1940, during World War II. But its role expanded significantly during the Cold War that followed. The US was worried about possible Soviet attacks on Alaska, and thus built monitors and anti-aircraft systems to counter any threats. The airbase was an important part of that mission. The air squadrons based there are still positioned to intercept any Russian aircraft that might seek to enter US airspace.

Still, the US has not clarified why it chose Alaska as the venue for the summit.

What’s on the agenda?

The two leaders will discuss the terms for a possible ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine.

On the agenda is how such a deal could look, including possible territorial concessions on either side.

Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022. Its military currently controls about 19 percent of Ukrainian land across Crimea, Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhia, Kherson and small parts of Kharkiv, Sumy, Mykolaiv, and Dnipropetrovsk provinces.

Ukraine controlled parts of Russia’s Kursk region from August 2024 but has since lost most of the territory.

What land swaps could Trump and Putin discuss?

Trump, on Monday, suggested in a news briefing that Ukraine and Russia could swap territory in order to reach a land deal.

However, he walked back that suggestion on Tuesday at another briefing as his suggestion proved controversial across Europe. Trump promised to get back some Ukrainian territory.

“Russia occupied a big portion of Ukraine. They occupied prime territory. We’re going to try to get some of that territory back for Ukraine,” he said.

As part of any swap deal, analysts believe that Putin will press for Ukraine to withdraw from the parts of Donetsk that its troops still control. That would give Russia complete control of the Donbas region, which includes Luhansk and Donetsk – Russia already controls almost all of Luhansk – in addition to Crimea and chunks of Kherson, Zaporizhia and other southern regions. It will also want Ukraine to relinquish the tiny part of Kursk in Russia that Kyiv’s forces occupy.

In exchange, Russia might be willing to give up the small areas in the Sumy and Kharkiv regions under its control.

Moscow invaded and illegally occupied Crimea in March 2014. Pro-Russian militias seized parts of the Donbas starting from April 2014, triggering conflict with resisting Ukrainian troops. Much of the region was then taken over by invading Russian forces following Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

What are Trump’s expectations for the summit?

President Trump said on Monday that he expects this meeting to be a “feel-type” conversation between him and Putin, one where he understands what the Russian leader wants.

A second meeting, he has said, is likely going to come from it soon and will include Zelenskyy and Putin, with Trump likely hosting it.

However, Trump sounded a more severe tone on Wednesday. He warned that if the Friday meeting ended without Russia agreeing to peace in Ukraine, there would be “very severe consequences” for Russia.

Trump did not specify what US actions might be. He’d earlier threatened economic sanctions on Russia “within 50 days” if Moscow did not end the war. However, the Alaska meeting was announced as the deadline of August 8 arrived, with no significant action from Washington.

Presently, Russia is under significant Western sanctions, including bans on its banks and its crude oil. In late July, the US slammed India with tariffs for buying Russian oil, and this week, US officials have warned of secondary sanctions on that country if Friday’s talks fail.

What has Russia said it wants from the meeting?

Moscow presented a proposal to the US on August 6, last week, stating its requests, according to reporting by the Wall Street Journal.

Russia’s asks remain similar to its stated goals in June 2024. Moscow says it will stop the war if:

• Kyiv drops its ambitions to join NATO, and if the country disarms significantly.
• If Kyiv pulls back and cedes all of the Donbas in return for Russia halting advances on Kherson and Zaporizhia, and handing back small occupied parts of Sumy and Kharkiv.
• If Western sanctions are relaxed as part of a peace deal.

But Russian officials have since also indicated that they want any movement towards peace to also serve as a launchpad for improved ties with the US. Putin’s delegation for the Alaska summit suggests that Russia might make economic offers – including the promise of investments in the US – to Trump.

What are Ukraine and Europe seeking from the talks?

Zelenkyy has in the past said that Ukraine will not cede territory.

He reiterated that on August 9, in light of Putin’s proposal to Trump, and stated that Ukraine would not “gift land to the occupier” and that it was impossible to do so under Ukrainian law.

Europe, meanwhile, has been nervous about what Trump might agree to. Following the three-way call between Trump, Zelenskyy and European leaders on Wednesday, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, French President Emmanuel Macron, and the UK’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer outlined what the European coalition wanted:

• That the US not agree to any territorial deals without Ukraine being present
• Ukraine needs credible security guarantees as part of any peace deal, that is, a guarantee of non-invasion by Russia.
• Zelenskyy reiterated those calls and added that Ukraine should still be allowed to join NATO if a ceasefire is reached. He also said sanctions should be strengthened if Russia fails to agree to a peace deal on Friday.

What could the outcome be?

Some analysts are hopeful about the prospects of the beginnings of a peace deal emerging from the summit. The big question, they say, is whether Ukraine will agree to a possible deal between the two leaders in Alaska, if its terms are unplatable to Kyiv.

However, others, like Melvin of RUSI, think this meeting is ultimately a play by Russia to stall the US from making good on its sanctions threat, while allowing Moscow to keep advancing militarily in Ukraine.

“Putin believes that he can win [and] is anxious to stall the United States and any further pressure it may seek to put on Russia,” he said. “The most likely outcome of the summit is then that there may be some announcements of steps forward, but the war will continue.”

United States President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin are set to meet in Anchorage, Alaska, on Friday to discuss how to end the war in Ukraine.

On Wednesday, following a virtual meeting with European leaders including Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Trump warned of “severe consequences” if Putin refuses to accept a ceasefire after more than three years of war.

The venue for the high-profile meeting is Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, a US military installation on the northern edge of Alaska’s most populous city.

Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson is Alaska’s largest military base. The 64,000-acre outfit is a key US site for Arctic military drills and readiness.

When Trump visited the base during his first term, in 2019, he said the troops there “serve in our country’s last frontier as America’s first line of defence”.

But that wasn’t always the case. Indeed, the US government actually bought Alaska from Russia – separated by just 90km (55 miles) at the narrowest point of the Bering Strait – in 1867.

At a news briefing on August 9, Russian presidential assistant Yuri Ushakov pointed out that the two countries are neighbours.

“It seems quite logical for our delegation simply to fly over the Bering Strait and for such an important … summit of the leaders of the two countries to be held in Alaska,” Ushakov said.

When did Russia assume control of Alaska?

When Russian Tsar Peter the Great dispatched the Danish navigator Vitus Bering in 1725 to explore the Alaskan coast, Russia already had a high interest in the region, which was rich in natural resources – including lucrative sea otter pelts – and sparsely populated.

Then, in 1799, Emperor Paul I granted the “Russian-American Company” a monopoly over governance in Alaska. This state-sponsored group established settlements like Sitka, which became the colonial capital after Russia ruthlessly overcame the native Tlingit tribe in 1804.

Russia’s Alaskan ambitions, however, quickly faced numerous challenges – the vast distance from then-capital St Petersburg, harsh climates, supply shortages, and growing competition from American explorers.

As the US expanded westward in the early 1800s, Americans soon found themselves toe to toe with Russian traders. What’s more, Russia lacked the resources to support major settlements and a military presence along the Pacific coast.

The history of the region then changed dramatically in the mid-19th century.

Why did Russia sell Alaska after the Crimean War?

The Crimean War (1853-1856) started when Russia invaded the Turkish Danubian principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia, modern-day Romania. Wary of Russian expansion into their trade routes, Britain and France allied with the ailing Ottoman Empire.

The war’s main theatre of battle became the Crimean Peninsula, as British and French forces targeted Russian positions in the Black Sea, which connects to the Mediterranean through the Bosphorus and Dardanelles straits – previously controlled by the Ottoman Empire.

After three years, Russia humiliatingly lost the war, forcing it to reassess its colonial priorities. According to calculations by Advocate for Peace, a journal published by the American Peace Society in the 19th and early 20th centuries, Russia spent the equivalent of 160 million pounds sterling on the war.

Meanwhile, due to overhunting, Alaska yielded little profit by the mid-1800s. Its proximity to British-controlled Canada also made it a liability in any future Anglo-Russian conflict.

By the early 1860s, Tsar Alexander II concluded that selling Alaska would both raise funds Russia desperately needed and prevent Britain from seizing it in a future war. The US, which had continued to expand across the continent, emerged as a willing buyer, leading to the 1867 Alaska Purchase.

How was the sale received in the US?

After the American Civil War ended in 1865, Secretary of State William Seward took up Russia’s longstanding offer to buy Alaska. On March 30, 1867, Washington agreed to buy Alaska from Russia for $7.2m.

For less than 2 cents an acre (4 metres), the US acquired nearly 1.5 million sq km (600,000 square miles) of land and ensured access to the Pacific northern rim. But opponents of the Alaska Purchase, who saw little value in the vast ice sheet, persisted in calling it “Seward’s Folly” or “Seward’s Icebox”.

“We simply obtain by the treaty the nominal possession of impassable deserts of snow, vast tracts of dwarf timbers… we get… Sitka and the Prince of Wales Islands. All the rest is waste territory,” wrote the New York Daily Tribune in April 1867.

But in 1896, the Klondike Gold Strike convinced even the harshest critics that Alaska was a valuable addition to US territory. Over time, the strategic importance of Alaska was gradually recognised, and in January 1959 Alaska finally became a US state.

What’s its economy like now?

By the early 20th century, Alaska’s economy began to diversify away from gold. Commercial fishing, especially for salmon and halibut, became a major industry, while copper mining boomed in places like Kennecott.

Then, during World War II, the construction of military bases brought infrastructure improvements and population growth. The most transformative moment, however, came in 1968 with the discovery of vast oil reserves at Prudhoe Bay on the Arctic coast.

Oil revenues became the cornerstone of Alaska’s economy, funding public services as well as the Alaska Permanent Fund, which pays annual dividends – via returns on stocks, bonds, real estate, and other assets – to residents.

These payments, known as the Permanent Fund Dividend, will ensure that Alaska’s oil wealth continues to benefit residents even after reserves run out. This system has allowed Alaska to have no state income tax or state sales tax, a rarity in the US.

More recently, tourism has surged in Alaska, drawing visitors to the state’s national parks and glaciers. Today, Alaska has transformed from a ridiculed purchase into a resource-rich state, built on a mix of natural resource extraction, fishing and tourism.

Meanwhile, despite Alaska’s history of trading land like currency, President Zelenskyy will hope that Friday’s meeting between Trump and Putin does not come at the expense of Ukrainian territory.

DONALD Trump and Vladimir Putin are just hours away from holding a historic one-on-one meeting which could shape global politics.

The world’s eyes are poised on Alaska today as leaders of both superpowers prepare to sit down in a peace summit that could decide the fate of Ukraine.

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On Thursday afternoon, Trump likened the high-stakes talks to a game of chess as he warned there is a 25 per cent chance it could end in failure.

He also vowed that Putin “is not going to mess around with me”, insisting the Russian leader “wants a deal” but would face consequences if he becomes greedy.

Trump and Putin are set to meet one-on-one at Elmendorf-Richardson base near Anchorage at 11.30am local time (8.30pm UK) — under extraordinary security.

Putin, who rarely travels abroad since launching his full-scale invasion, will arrive with his feared “Musketeers” bodyguards.

They are notorious for coming armed with everything from armour-piercing pistols to the infamous nuclear briefcase — and even a “poo suitcase” to stop any analysis of Vlad’s health.

The Cold War-era military base has been locked down by US and Russian forces since the meeting was announced last week.

Over 32,000 troops, air defences, and electronic jamming systems are all in place waiting for today’s link up.

The crunch talks will be followed by a joint press conference by both leaders.

The main topic of the meeting will be crisis in Ukraine with Trump pushing to strike a deal with the Kremlin to end the bloodshed.

Also on the agenda will be trade and economic cooperation, Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov added.

Trump and Putin will also have a wider meeting with delegations from Washington and Moscow.

They will then attend a working lunch with their security entourage.

For Trump, the meeting stands as a chance to bring peace to war-torn Ukraine and end a conflict which he said would never have started if he were the president back in 2022.

And for Putin, the meeting will decide how much territory he can grab before ending his bloody assault.

The Russian leader, who has consistently rejected calls for a ceasefire, said that he wants peace but that his demands for ending his invasion were “unchanged”.

One major sticking point for Moscow is the annexation of more Ukrainian territory – one of Putin’s long-term demands.

It is understood that Trump will try to convince Putin to make peace by offering him deals and concessions.

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Though Washington has said that it will not engage in any agreement on a final peace deal without Ukraine’s formal involvement in the negotiations.

Trump has insisted a deal won’t be made without Ukraine’s blessing with a second meeting set to be arranged soon.

He hinted at a more “important” second round of talks taking place “very quickly” — this time with Volodymyr Zelensky and “maybe some European leaders” in the room.

Putin has tried to sweeten the mood, praising Trump’s “sincere efforts” for peace, even as Zelensky warns he is “bluffing”.

If Putin agrees to a possible ceasefire, both leaders will reach the next stage of peace-making, where they are expected to hold a trilateral meeting with Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelensky.

Trump has vowed “very severe consequences” if this turns out to be the case.

Zelensky, fresh from meetings with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and UK PM Sir Keir Starmer, has warned that any talks without Ukraine risk disaster.

Don, who hails himself as a great dealmaker, is said to be planning to present a money-making deal to lure sanctions-hit Putin into peace-making.

The deal will include opening up Alaska’s natural resources to Moscow and lifting some of the American sanctions on Russia’s aviation industry, The Telegraph revealed.

Proposals also include giving Putin access to the rare earth minerals in the Ukrainian territories currently occupied by Russia.

Trump is seemingly betting on Russia‘s current economy, which has been hit hard by global sanctions since he launched his illegal invasion of Ukraine.

There is also a chance that the meeting could go south as Trump warned that the Russians risk facing “very severe consequences” if they continue to bomb Ukraine and kill innocent civilians.

More than anyone else, the meeting will be key to European leaders who have long supported Ukraine and warned against future Russian aggression.

Zelensky and European leaders are likely to reject any settlement proposals by the US that demand Ukraine give up further land.

They want to freeze the current frontline as it is – giving away the territory already being held by the Russians.

Zelensky has reiterated that Ukraine will not cede any further territory to Russia.

But it may not be up to the embattled leader if he is presented with a take it or leave it offer in the latter stages of the peace process.

Trump announced on Friday that the only way to resolve the issues is for both sides to accept losses of land.

He said: “It’s complicated, actually. Nothing is easy. It’s very complicated.

“We’re going to get some switched. There’ll be some swapping of territories to the betterment of both.”

The MAGA president said he would try to return territory to Ukraine.

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Don added: “Russia has occupied a big portion of Ukraine. They’ve occupied some very prime territory.

“We’re going to try and get some of that territory back for Ukraine.”

After Trump held a call with the European leaders on Thursday, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz confirmed that Trump reaffirmed that Trump would not negotiate territorial issues with Putin.

Meanwhile, French President Emmanuel Macron will not be engaging in any “schemes for territory swaps” during the summit.

The summit is set to take place at Elmendorf-Richardson base, one of the most strategic locations in the Arctic.

Bristling with troops from the US Air Force, Army, Navy and Marine Corps, as well as National Guardsmen and Reserves, it is a symbolic location for both the US and Russia.

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Here are the key events on day 1,268 of Russia’s war on Ukraine.

Here is how things stand on Friday, August 15:

Fighting

• Ukrainian drones struck two Russian cities in attacks that injured at least 16 people, local authorities said.
• Thirteen people were wounded, two seriously, when a drone struck an apartment building in the southern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don, and three civilians were wounded in the city of Belgorod near the border with Ukraine.
• The Ukrainian military said its drones hit a Russian refinery in the Volgograd region overnight, causing huge fires.
• Russia’s Defence Ministry said Russian forces captured the settlements of Shcherbynivka and Andriivka-Klevtsove in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region.
• Ukrainian troops have stabilised an area of eastern Ukraine where Russian forces had made a sudden push this week to pierce Ukrainian defences, the Donetsk region’s Governor Vadym Filashkin said.
• Ukraine said small groups of Russian infantry had thrust some 10 kilometres (six miles) towards its main defensive line near the town of Dobropillia, raising fears of a wider breakthrough on the front line that would further threaten key Ukrainian cities.
• The Russian advance, coming as United States President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin are due to meet in Alaska on Friday, appears aimed at pressuring Kyiv to give up land in return for peace with Russia, observers said.

Alaska summit

• Trump said he believes Putin is ready to end his war in Ukraine, speaking on the eve of Friday’s summit between the two leaders in the city of Anchorage, but a peace deal would likely require at least a second meeting involving Ukraine’s leader, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
• Trump and Putin will meet face-to-face on Friday before holding a joint news conference, White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said.

• Trump will go into talks with Putin hoping to achieve a halt to the fighting in Ukraine, but a solution to the war will take longer, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said.

• Putin said the US was making “sincere efforts” to halt the war in Ukraine and suggested Moscow and Washington could agree on a nuclear arms deal as part of a wider effort to strengthen peace.
• Putin said “in order to create long-term conditions for peace between our countries, and in Europe, and in the world as a whole”, there could be agreements reached “in the area of control over strategic offensive weapons”.
• The Kremlin warned it would be a big mistake to predict the outcome of the upcoming summit, the state-run Interfax news agency reported. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said there were no plans to sign any documents following the summit.
• The talks in Alaska between Trump and Putin present a viable chance to make progress on ending the war in Ukraine, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s office said in a statement.

Military aid

• Zelenskyy said he had a detailed discussion on possible security guarantees for Ukraine during a “productive meeting” with the United Kingdom’s Starmer.
• Zelenskyy said Kyiv had so far secured $1.5bn from its European allies to buy US weapons as part of a mechanism – the NATO Prioritised Ukraine Requirements List initiative – that he said “truly strengthens our defence”.
• French President Emmanuel Macron said Trump expressed a willingness to European leaders on Wednesday that the US and other allies should be part of giving Ukraine security guarantees to end Russia’s war in Ukraine.
• The US Agency for International Development (USAID) did not monitor the uses of 5,175 Starlink terminals sent to Ukraine, with nearly half of the operational units ending up in areas fully or partly held by Moscow, according to a report by the agency’s internal watchdog.

Prisoners of war

• The United Arab Emirates has successfully mediated a new exchange of captives between Russia and Ukraine. Some 84 captives were released from each side, bringing the total number exchanged through UAE mediation to 4,349.
• Ukraine brought home 84 prisoners of war that included 51 civilians, Ukrainian officials said, at least one of whom had been held for more than a decade.

Regional developments

• Russian State Duma Chairman Vyacheslav Volodin met with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un during an official visit to Pyongyang, the Russian parliament said. Volodin, a close ally of Putin, conveyed greetings from the Russian leader and thanked Kim for North Korea’s support of Russia’s military campaign in Ukraine.

Economy

• Ukraine’s Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko ordered a review of all licences to mine strategic minerals in the country, as part of a broader effort to help the war-ravaged economy and secure new investments under a minerals deal with the US.

President Trump says the Alaska summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin could “set the table” for trilateral talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. He denied the meeting rewarded Putin, as critics warned it could undermine US efforts to isolate Russia.

Ahead of a direct meeting with US President Donald Trump, Russian President Vladimir Putin praised his counterpart’s “sincere efforts” to end the war with Ukraine. The two are set to speak face-to-face Friday in Anchorage, Alaska.

The US president’s words come on the eve of his closely watched Alaska summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

One day before the leaders of Russia and the United States are set to meet in the US state of Alaska to discuss ending the Russia-Ukraine war, US President Donald Trump said he believes his Russian counterpart is ready “to make a deal”.

In an interview on Fox News Radio on Thursday, Trump said he believed Russian President Vladimir Putin “wanted the whole thing” – in an apparent reference to his territorial aspirations in Ukraine – but was willing to come to the table and make a deal due to the relationship between the two men.

“I think he wants to get it done. I really feel he wanted the whole thing. I think if it weren’t me, if it were somebody else, he would not be talking to anybody,” Trump told interviewer Brian Kilmeade.

Trump and Putin will meet in Alaska on Friday for talks on the more than three-year conflict. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will not be present at the talks, though Trump has said that should Putin signal a willingness to end the war, another meeting between the two leaders would follow.

“I don’t know that we’re going to get an immediate ceasefire, but I think it’s going to come. See, I’m more interested in an immediate peace deal – getting peace fast. And depending on what happens with my meeting, I’m going to be calling up President Zelenskyy and [saying] let’s get him over to wherever we’re going to meet,” Trump said.

He added that there was the possibility they could simply “stay in Alaska”, but also stressed that if the meeting went poorly, “I’m not calling anyone. I’m going home.”

That hedging represents a seeming cautiousness by Trump, who has spoken about being frustrated by Putin’s broken promises in the past.

Speaking from Washington, DC, Al Jazeera’s Shihab Rattansi said Trump’s metric for success could be boiled down to what read he had on Putin.

“He very much made it clear that what success means in this context is him being convinced that Vladimir Putin is serious about peace, and then arranging a second meeting that would involve the Ukrainians,” he said.

Earlier on Thursday, Putin praised Trump, saying he was “making quite energetic and sincere efforts to end the fighting”.

The words came shortly after Zelenskyy met with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer in London, where they discussed security guarantees for Ukraine that could “make peace truly durable if the United States succeeds in pressing Russia to stop the killings and engage in genuine, substantive diplomacy”, Zelenskyy wrote on X.

The meeting, said Al Jazeera’s Jonah Hull, “was about a show of unity ahead of that summit in Alaska”.

Hull noted there was a “sense of some optimism” following the Wednesday call between Trump, Zelenskyy and European leaders.

“[Trump] took a somewhat stronger line against Putin than was expected, saying the Russian president faced severe consequences if he didn’t meaningfully engage in ceasefire talks,” he noted.