By William Miller, correspondent for Eurasia Business News, August 15, 2025. Article n°1712
The first bilateral summit in seven years between Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump will begin today around 11:30 AM local time in Anchorage, Alaska (the Russian leader met with Joe Biden in Geneva in 2021).
According to Trump’s schedule, the entire summit will last until August 16. He intends meet Vladimir Putin when he arrives first, state Governor Mike Dunleavy said. This confirmed NBC’s information about the “highest honors” that the American president will give to his Russian counterpart.
The meeting is focused largely on the ongoing war in Ukraine, with Trump pushing for a ceasefire deal and potentially broader negotiations. This summit marks a significant diplomatic moment given the tensions since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the lack of direct US-Russia talks in recent years. It is being held at the Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage.
The U.S. president wants to get Putin to the negotiating table but does not expect to immediately strike a peace deal. Trump has warned Putin of “severe consequences” if he doesn’t agree to a cease-fire, including potentially harsh new sanctions that would ramp up economic pressure on Russia. But the summit is already a victory for Vladimir Putin, as Russia regained its place at the direct talks with the United States, as it was during the Cold War (1947-1991). During the Cold War, the US engaged directly with the USSR as a superpower rival, and now through such summits, Russia is reclaiming that symbolic diplomatic status.
Donald Trump meets with the Vladimir Putin at the airbase of Anchorage, today at 11:15 AM local time (ALASKA).
While there’s considerable anticipation about the summit’s outcomes, both leaders and their teams have maintained some ambiguity about what will be achieved, though Trump has expressed hopes for progress including a second possible meeting involving Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Strategic cooperation is an important element in relations between Russia and the United States. Trump may try to work out new agreements between the two countries with the involvement of China.
But president Trump is also actively promoting the Golden Dome missile defense system project for the United States. In January 2025, he signed a decree on the launch of the corresponding program. In early August, the first leaks about the structure of the system appeared. According to Reuters, the country’s authorities proceed from its value of $175 billion, $25 billion has been allocated, another $45.3 billion has been requested by Trump for 2026.
The negotiations between Russia and the United States will discuss the entire range of bilateral relations, Kirill Dmitriev, head of the Russian Direct Investment Fund, who is part of the Russian delegation heading to Alaska, told RIA Novosti.
This summit is historic in that no Russian leader has visited Alaska previously, and the location marks a unique setting given Alaska’s historical ties to Russia before being sold to the US in 1867. The event is being closely watched globally for its potential impact on US-Russia relations and the future of the Ukraine conflict.
On August 6, the U.S. Special Presidential Envoy Steve Witkoff visited Moscow. He met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in the Kremlin, their meeting lasted about three hours. As presidential aide Yuri Ushakov said after the talks, the meeting had two topics – the conflict in Ukraine and “prospects for the possible development of strategic cooperation between the United States and Russia.”
Announced by president Trump on August 9, this Alaska summit is a critical moment for US-Russia relations, marked by the leaders’ contrasting objectives: Trump’s push for a ceasefire to end the war and Putin’s aim to secure Russia’s strategic gains and global standing. The outcome could significantly impact the future trajectory of the Russia-Ukraine conflict and broader international diplomacy. The absence of European representatives show the geopolitical weakness of Europe amid great powers like the U.S., Russia or China.
Our community already has 155,000 readers, joins us !
Subscribe to our Telegram channel
Follow us on Telegram, Facebook and Twitter
© Copyright 2025 – Eurasia Business News. Article no. 1712
Eurasia Business News 