Echoes of Yalta on Alaskan Ice: Trump and Putin Meet While the World Watches
This meeting comes at a time when Europe feels directly threatened by Russia, its relationship with the US is under strain, and Ukraine's future is uncertain. Yet, leaders from Europe and Ukraine will not be part of the talks.
In a way, this summit in Anchorage, Alaska, is similar to the 1945 Yalta Conference (resort city on the Crimean Peninsula, by the Black Sea.), when the US, UK, and Soviet Union decided the future of post-war Europe without including France's leader, Charles de Gaulle.
This means that, just like in 1945 when key decisions about Europe were made without one of its important leaders being invited, the Trump-Putin meeting will also discuss major issues — in this case, the war in Ukraine — without including leaders from Europe or Ukraine, even though the outcome will directly affect them.
The Meeting And Venue
This will be the first face-to-face meeting between the US and Russian presidents since June 2021, when Putin met then US President Joe Biden in Geneva. That meeting ended badly, and eight months later, Russia invaded Ukraine.
Putin will also become the first Russian leader to visit Alaska. The US bought Alaska from Russia in 1867 for $7.2 million. His last visit to the US was in 2015 to attend United Nations events.
The meeting at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson will be Putin's first with Trump since Trump became US President again in January.
During Trump's first term from 2017 to 2021, he and Putin met in person six times. Their last meeting was on June 28, 2019, at the G20 summit in Osaka, Japan.
Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson
Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson is a large military base in Anchorage, Alaska. It combines an Air Force base (Elmendorf) and an Army base (Fort Richardson) into one facility.
It is used for training, housing troops, and supporting military operations in the Arctic and Pacific regions. Hosting the Trump-Putin meeting here gives it extra security and keeps it away from busy public areas.
Inside Trump's Mind
Trump had once boldly said he could end the war in just 24 hours. About a month after becoming President, he spoke on the phone with Putin — a leader he often said he had known well for years — for an hour and a half (90 Minutes).
On February 18, top US and Russian officials met in Riyadh — their first face-to-face meeting since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022.
Ten days later, Trump and Vice President J D Vance openly scolded Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in front of the media at the White House. At that point, Putin appeared to be in a stronger position.
In April, after talks led by Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Germany's Chancellor Friedrich Merz, and France's President Emmanuel Macron, Trump met Ukraine's President Zelenskyy at the Vatican and called it 'very productive.' Later, he wrote on social media that Putin had no reason to fire missiles at civilian areas.
In July, Trump told the BBC that he was 'disappointed in' Putin, but was 'not done with him' yet. Just hours earlier, Trump had announced plans to send weapons to Ukraine and warned that Russia would face strong tariffs if a ceasefire deal was not reached within 50 days.
The President then cut this deadline to 10 days, saying he was disappointed with Putin. He complained that after their 'nice' and 'respectful' talks, Russia still carried out missile attacks on civilians.
On August 7, just a day before the deadline, Trump said the next move was Putin's — 'It's up to him… Very disappointed.'
This week, Trump tried to lower expectations for the Alaska summit. He said, 'This is really just a first meeting to understand each other,' and predicted he would know 'probably in the first two minutes' if a deal was possible.
But on Wednesday,13th August, after an online meeting with Zelenskyy and European leaders, which he called 'a 10' (meaning excellent) and 'very friendly', Trump warned of 'severe consequences' if Putin refused to make a deal.
Trump, who is eager to end wars and conflicts, wants to prove to the world that he has brought peace in Ukraine. He also hopes to win the Nobel Peace Prize and seems to feel that Putin is tricking him, which makes him frustrated.
Putin's Conditions
For Putin, just arriving in Alaska will feel like a win. The West has treated him as an outcast (someone rejected or excluded by others), and he faces war crimes charges, yet he will be standing on American soil. Getting recognition from the leader of the world's most powerful country will show that attempts to isolate him have failed.
Putin is making big demands — he wants to keep the Ukrainian territories that Russia currently controls, block Ukraine from joining NATO, and remove Zelenskyy from power.
In the past, he has made it clear that for any ceasefire, Ukraine must give up all of Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson. During the Istanbul talks in March, Russia stated that a 30-day ceasefire would begin only after Ukraine completely withdrew from these four regions.
He will also want sanctions on Russia to be reduced, as they have hurt its technology and defence industries. Russia's budget deficit is growing, and its earnings from oil and gas exports are under pressure.
Zelenskyy Facing the Heat
Zelenskyy's main goal right now is a ceasefire — to stop the attacks on Ukrainian cities and the killing of Ukrainians. But Kyiv has also said that for any talks to matter, the next step must be working toward a lasting peace that both sides will respect.
'We agree with President Trump's plan — first have a ceasefire, then sit at the negotiating table and discuss all other issues,' Zelenskyy told reporters this week.
The other goal is NATO membership, and Zelenskyy has said Russia 'has no right to block this.' Ukraine also wants ongoing Western military support to strengthen and modernise its armed forces.
Ukraine has made it clear that it will not give up any land currently occupied by Russian forces.
How India Sees It
As Trump tries to pressure Russia, he has put a 25% penalty on India for buying Russian oil, along with 25% tariffs on Indian exports to the US.
For Trump, India is the easiest target — the US has little influence over China, which is the biggest buyer of Russian energy.
NATO chief Mark Rutte had earlier warned India, China, and Brazil that they could face serious economic penalties if they kept doing business with Russia. Right now, India and Brazil face 50% US tariffs, the highest in the world.
India's National Security Advisor Ajit Doval met Putin at the Kremlin last week. The next day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke with the Russian President, and three days later, Modi called Zelenskyy.
The result of the Alaska summit is very important for India. New Delhi hopes that if Trump feels he has achieved a 'win', he might reconsider the 25% penalty.
A few hours after Trump announced his meeting with Putin, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said, 'India welcomes the understanding reached between the United States and the Russian Federation.'
'This meeting could help end the Ukraine conflict and create a chance for peace. As Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said many times, 'this is not an era of war',' MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said, as reported by Indian Express.
Along with hoping the penalty for buying Russian oil is removed, India is also interested in helping rebuild Ukraine once the war is over.
India will also watch how China acts in the peace talks, and whether the US — after ending the Ukraine war — can turn its focus back to the Indo-Pacific strategy to counter China, Indian Express reports.
——E.O.M
(Girish Linganna is an award-winning science communicator and a Defence, Aerospace & Geopolitical Analyst. He is the Managing Director of ADD Engineering Components India Pvt. Ltd., a subsidiary of ADD Engineering GmbH, Germany. Contact: girishlinganna@gmail.com )
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Was Trump-Putin Alaska meet a success? What next for Ukraine? The key takeaways
US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin met in Anchorage, Alaska, for their first face-to-face talks since Moscow invaded Ukraine in 2022. While both leaders claimed 'progress', no ceasefire or deal was announced. The summit gave Putin symbolic wins and Trump political leverage, but left Volodymyr Zelenskyy sidelined US President Donald Trump goes to shake hands with Russian President Vladimir Putin, as they meet to negotiate for an end to the war in Ukraine, at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska, US, August 15, 2025. Reuters The meeting between United States President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Anchorage, Alaska, on Friday marked the first in-person engagement between American and Russian leaders since the Kremlin launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in early 2022. Expectations were high that the summit might at least produce a framework for a ceasefire or set the stage for substantive negotiations. Instead, the talks concluded earlier than planned and without a definitive agreement. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Both leaders highlighted 'progress,' but neither specified what that meant, leaving observers and allies uncertain about what, if anything, had been achieved. The summit carried strong symbolic weight — bringing Putin back onto US soil after years of isolation and providing Trump with another opportunity to assert his foreign policy approach. Yet the lack of concrete outcomes put into spotlight the lack of will in reaching a settlement to the ongoing war. Trump set the stage in Alaska The Anchorage summit was carefully choreographed, with fighter jet flyovers, a red carpet welcome, and the slogan 'Pursuing Peace' displayed prominently. For Trump, it was a chance to showcase statesmanship, while for Putin, the optics of being received with honours in the United States after years of pariah status represented a personal and diplomatic triumph. 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The missing Ukraine ceasefire Throughout the weeks leading up to Anchorage, Trump had pointed out that a ceasefire was non-negotiable for a deal. He suggested he would 'walk' away if Putin did not agree to halt hostilities, even threatening 'severe' consequences if the war dragged on. Yet by the end of the summit, no such outcome was announced. In fact, Trump shifted responsibility toward Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, stressing in interviews after the summit that Kyiv had to accept difficult compromises. 'Gotta make a deal,' Trump said when asked what advice he had for Zelenskyy. He indicated that discussions about potential territorial adjustments and US security guarantees had occurred and that 'those are points that we largely have agreed on.' This stance contrasted sharply with the Biden administration's approach, which had pushed unwavering military and financial support for Ukraine while insisting on Kyiv's sovereignty and territorial integrity. Putin's victories While Anchorage did not deliver a peace deal, it represented a significant win for Putin on multiple fronts. First, his return to the US was in itself a breakthrough. Russian state television celebrated the handshake with Trump on the tarmac as 'historic,' portraying it as evidence that Moscow had reemerged on the global stage despite Western attempts to isolate it. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Second, Putin left Alaska without offering any notable concessions. Instead, he reinforced his personal rapport with Trump, a relationship the American president described as consistently 'fantastic.' Third, Putin secured favourable public messaging. He praised Trump, declaring that he could 'confirm' the US president's claim that Russia would not have launched its 2022 invasion if Trump had been in office at the time. Such remarks bolstered Trump's narrative while simultaneously justifying Moscow's past actions in the eyes of Russian audiences. The Russian leader also scored a more personal victory: joining Trump in the armoured presidential limousine known as 'the Beast.' Their brief ride together — without aides or translators — became a symbolic image of trust and camaraderie, though its contents remain unknown. After years of being shunned in Europe and facing sanctions, restrictions, and legal threats, Putin was once again shaking hands with the leader of the world's most powerful nation. Trump's choice to host him — and to do so with military honours, a red carpet, and public warmth — weakened the Western effort to diplomatically isolate Moscow. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Even if other European leaders remain unwilling to engage, the fact that Washington opened its doors carries far greater weight internationally. This rehabilitation was evident from Putin's demeanour. Smiling broadly as he peered from Trump's limousine, his reentry onto the world stage was unmistakable. 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Ukraine is ready to work as productively as possible to bring the war to an end,… — Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) August 15, 2025 In interviews after the summit, Trump suggested there could eventually be a meeting between Zelenskyy and Putin, potentially with himself present. 'They both want me there, and I'll be there,' he told Fox News. Yet the Anchorage summit made clear that under current conditions. His suggestion to host Trump in Moscow, pointedly excluded the mention of the Ukrainian leader. The summit's key takeaways can be summarised as follows: No ceasefire : Despite Trump's insistence before the meeting, fighting in Ukraine continues. Symbolic gains for Putin : His return to U.S. soil marked a diplomatic breakthrough. Political opportunities for Trump : He used the event to dismiss past investigations and strengthen his image as a dealmaker. 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