Putin-Trump summit hopes fade after Alaska talks

Almost a year after Donald Trump hosted Vladimir Putin in Alaska to seek an end to Russia's offensive in Ukraine, the diplomatic opening has stalled, with US mediation at a standstill and the war escalating.

The August 15, 2025 summit at the Elmendorf-Richardson air base in Alaska was promoted by Russian officials as creating a “spirit of Anchorage” based on renewed dialogue with Washington. What was decided behind closed doors remains unclear.

Moscow has maintained that some form of understanding was reached. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov called it a “compromise proposal”. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio rejected the idea that there had been an agreement, saying in June that if there had been one, the war would have ended.

US-brokered direct talks between Russia and Ukraine in early 2026 later broke down, chiefly over territory. Ukraine refuses to give up land it still controls and wants an immediate ceasefire along the current front line, with territorial status to be addressed in wider peace talks.

Since then, Washington has issued fresh sanctions on Russia and the New Start nuclear arms control agreement has lapsed. Lavrov and Rubio met in Manila in July, but the meeting lasted only about 30 minutes.

Russia continues to demand territory and political and military concessions that Ukraine rejects as capitulation. Russia's army chief Valery Gerasimov told Putin in July that Russian forces would continue their mission in the Donbas and Novorossiya, referring to land across eastern and southern Ukraine.

Kyiv is relying on long-range strikes, supported by Europe, to pressure Russia. Those attacks triggered a nationwide fuel crisis over the summer and led Moscow-installed authorities in annexed Crimea to impose a local state of emergency.

Russia has increased missile attacks on Kyiv, killing dozens in recent weeks, and has halted Ukrainian exports through the Black Sea with strikes on ports and ships. Russian political analyst Fyodor Lukyanov said in August that the “spirit of Anchorage” had dissipated.