U.S Donald Trump, Putin To Hold High-stakes Alaska Summit

U.S Donald Trump, Putin To Hold High-stakes Alaska Summit

U.S. President Donald Trump has announced plans to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska next week.

Speaking earlier at the White House, Trump suggested that “some swapping of territories” might be discussed “to the betterment of both” Ukraine and Russia, though he declined to provide specifics.

“The highly anticipated meeting between myself, as President of the United States of America, and President Vladimir Putin of Russia, will take place next Friday, August 15, 2025, in the Great State of Alaska,” Trump announced on Truth Social.

Ahead of the talks, Putin spoke with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Both leaders have championed their own peace proposals with little success.

According to China’s state news agency, Xi voiced support for U.S.-Russia dialogue, noting that improved relations could help “promote a political settlement of the Ukraine crisis.”

The Alaska summit will be the first in-person meeting between a sitting U.S. and Russian president since Joe Biden met Putin in Geneva in 2021, and the first Trump-Putin meeting since the 2019 G20 summit in Japan.

Despite previous negotiations in Istanbul and other venues, no breakthrough has been achieved. Russia continues to press its territorial claims, while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky maintains that any agreement must involve direct talks with him, a condition Putin has rejected.

Meanwhile, Russian bombardments persist in eastern and southern Ukraine. Donetsk governor Vadym Filashkin said Friday that families with children are being evacuated from 19 frontline villages as fighting intensifies.

Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov confirmed that Trump has been invited to visit Russia in the future, suggesting the potential for deeper engagement between the two leaders.