US President Donald Trump will meet Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska on August 15, 2025, for talks aimed at ending the Ukraine war, with potential territorial swaps on the table.
Washington [US]: US President Donald Trump has announced that he will meet Russian President Vladimir Putin next Friday, August 15, 2025, in Alaska. The meeting is expected to focus heavily on efforts to broker a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine. Trump revealed the details on his Truth Social account. He wrote, “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. Further details to follow. Thank you for your attention to this matter!” Speaking earlier at the White House during the signing of the Armenia-Azerbaijan peace accord, Trump also hinted at progress on the Russia-Ukraine conflict. “I came in, and this whole world was on fire, and all these things were sort of happening. We have only been here six months. The world was on fire, and we took care of just about every fire, and we’re working on another one very strongly with Russia and Ukraine. We will have some more information for you a little bit later,” Trump said. He also said that his “highest aspiration is to bring peace and stability in the world.”
When asked about the Russia-Ukraine peace efforts during the Armenia-Azerbaijan accord event, Trump said, “Russia, as you know, lost almost 25,000 over the last month and a half. Ukraine lost just a few, and lots of people are dying, and we are getting very close and will announce later on. We will have a meeting with Russia, and we will announce a location. The location will be a very popular one for lots of reasons. We will announce it a little later, and don’t want to do it now because of the importance of what we just did.”
On being asked how far negotiations had progressed, Trump replied, “We are getting very close to a deal. Working with European nations, who are terrific people and leaders, is a pleasure through NATO. I became very friendly with them and agreed to go from 2 per cent to 5 per cent that they have already paid. And we are working together very closely. In all fairness to President Zelensky, he is getting everything he needs, assuming we will get something done. I will be meeting very shortly with President Putin. It would have been sooner, but I guess there are security arrangements that unfortunately people have to make.”
Trump also said that a deal to end the war in Ukraine would involve some exchange of territory. “It’s very complicated. But we’re going to get some [territory] back, and we’re going to get some switched. There’ll be some swapping of territories to the betterment of both, but we’ll be talking about that either later, or tomorrow,” he said.
Why Alaska?
The meeting will be held in Alaska, which Russia sold to the United States in 1867. The western tip of the state is not far — just across the Bering Strait — from the easternmost part of Russia. “Alaska and the Arctic are also where our countries’ economic interests intersect, and there are prospects for large-scale, mutually beneficial projects,” Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said in a statement on Telegram. “But, of course, the presidents themselves will undoubtedly focus on discussing options for achieving a long-term peaceful settlement of the Ukrainian crisis,” he added. Ushakov also expressed hope that next time the two presidents would meet on Russian territory.
“A corresponding invitation has already been sent to the US president,” he added. The International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrant for Putin — which obligates members to detain the Russian leader if he visits their country — had been thought to narrow the potential number of venues. Putin had previously mentioned the United Arab Emirates as a possible host for the talks, while media speculated Turkey, China or India could be possible venues.
Will Zelensky be involved?
Zelensky has been pushing to make it a three-way summit and has frequently said meeting Putin is the only way to make progress towards peace. Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff proposed a trilateral meeting when he held talks with Putin earlier this week, but the Russian leader has appeared to rule out meeting his Ukrainian counterpart. At talks in Istanbul in June, Russian negotiators said a Putin-Zelensky meeting could only take place at the “final phase” of negotiations, once the two sides had agreed on terms for peace. Asked if Putin had to meet Zelensky as a prerequisite for their summit, Trump said on Friday: “No, he doesn’t.”
When did they last meet?
Trump and Putin last sat together in 2019 at a G20 summit meeting in Japan during Trump’s first term. They have spoken by telephone several times since January. Putin previously held a summit with Trump in Helsinki in 2018. Trump raised eyebrows at the time by appearing to side with Putin over the US intelligence community’s finding that Russia had interfered in the US election to support the New York tycoon. The last time Putin met a US president in the United States was during talks with Barack Obama at a UN General Assembly in 2015.
Despite the flurry of diplomacy and multiple rounds of peace talks, Russia and Ukraine appear no closer to agreeing on an end to the fighting. Putin has rejected calls by the United States, Ukraine and Europe for an immediate ceasefire. At talks in June, Russia demanded Ukraine pull its forces out of four regions Moscow claims to have annexed, demanded Ukraine commit to being a neutral state, shun Western military support and be excluded from joining NATO.
Kyiv wants an immediate ceasefire and has said it will never recognize Russian control over its sovereign territory — though it acknowledged securing the return of land captured by Russia would have to come through diplomacy, not on the battlefield. Kyiv is also seeking security guarantees from Western backers, including the deployment of foreign troops as peacekeepers to enforce any ceasefire.
Trade Tensions Between India and US
The meeting comes at a time when there are tensions between India and US over the purchase of Russian Oil. Despite President Trump’s imposition of a 50% tariff on Indian goods and a halt on new trade talks, the State Department emphasized that ‘full and frank dialogue’ with India will continue. The US State Department’s Principal Deputy Spokesperson, Tommy Pigott, reaffirmed India’s standing as a ‘strategic partner’ during a press briefing.
India had issued a strong rebuttal to the United States over its decision to impose additional tariffs in response to New Delhi’s continued purchase of Russian oil. In an official statement, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) described the move as “unfair, discriminatory, and lacking justification.” India defended its energy trade policy, stating that its oil imports are driven by market needs and are essential to meet the energy requirements of its 1.4 billion people.
“Our decisions on oil procurement are based on market considerations and aimed at securing the country’s energy interests,” the MEA said, pushing back against what it sees as an attempt to pressure India over sovereign policy choices.Terming the U.S. measure “deeply disappointing,” the ministry pointed out that several other nations continue to source oil from Russia according to their own strategic interests. It said singling out India for penalties was unjust and warned that appropriate steps would be taken to protect national interests.
(With inputs from agencies)