Trump seeks US-Russia-Ukraine summit after Putin meeting fails to secure ceasefire

US President Donald Trump greets Russian President Vladimir Putin on the tarmac after they arrived at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska, on August 15, 2025. Photo / Andrew Caballero-Reynolds, AFP

US President Donald Trump failed to secure a Ukraine war ceasefire at a high-stakes summit with Russia’s President Vladimir Putin but insisted on Saturday that he would now target a full peace agreement to end the conflict.

Three hours of talks between the White House and Kremlin leaders at an Alaska air base produced no breakthrough but Trump and European leaders said they wanted a new summit that includes Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Zelenskyy said he will now go to Washington on Monday while European leaders said they were ready to intensify sanctions against Russia after Trump briefed them on the summit and they held their own protracted talks.

Trump remained upbeat about meeting Putin in a post on his Truth Social platform. “A great and very successful day in Alaska!,” he proclaimed, adding that European leaders backed his plan for a three-way meeting with Putin and Zelenskyy.

“It was determined by all that the best way to end the horrific war between Russia and Ukraine is to go directly to a peace agreement, which would end the war, and not a mere ceasefire agreement, which often times do not hold up,” he added confirming his meeting with Zelenskyy on Monday.

“If all works out, we will then schedule a meeting with President Putin. Potentially, millions of people’s lives will be saved.”

[L-R] US President Donald Trump, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky and Russia's President Vladimir Putin. Photo collage / AFP

After the summit, Trump spoke first with Zelenskyy, the White House said. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Nato Secretary General Mark Rutte and European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen later joined the call, officials said.

The European leaders, who had been wary of being left out of the Alaska meeting, held their own talks on Saturday and said they supported the proposed three-way summit.

“We are also ready to work with President Trump and President Zelenskyy towards a trilateral summit with European support,” they said in a joint statement that added that pressure must be maintained on Russia.

“As long as the killing in Ukraine continues, we stand ready to uphold the pressure on Russia. We will continue to strengthen sanctions and wider economic measures to put pressure on Russia’s war economy until there is a just and lasting peace,” they said.

Russia could not have a “veto” on Ukraine joining the European Union or Nato, they added.

Today, following a conversation with President Trump, we further coordinated positions with European leaders. The positions are clear. A real peace must be achieved, one that will be lasting, not just another pause between Russian invasions.

Killings must stop as soon as…

— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) August 16, 2025

The war, which has killed tens of thousands and devastated much of Ukraine, went on despite the summit. Ukraine announced that Russia had launched 85 attack drones and a ballistic missile during the night. Russia said it had taken two more villages in Ukraine.

Zelenskyy said Trump had laid out the “main points” of the summit and that he would go to the White House on Monday “to discuss all of the details regarding ending the killing and the war”.

Trump and Putin emerged from their talks at a Cold War era air base to offer warm words at a press briefing but took no questions from reporters.

“We’re not there yet, but we’ve made progress. There’s no deal until there’s a deal,” Trump said.

He called the meeting “extremely productive” with “many points” agreed, but did not offer specifics.

“There are just a very few that are left, some are not that significant, one is probably the most significant,” Trump said without elaborating.

Trump muses second meeting, Putin says ‘next time in Moscow’

Putin also spoke in general terms of co-operation at the joint press appearance that lasted just 12 minutes.

“We hope that the understanding we have reached will... pave the way for peace in Ukraine,” Putin said.

As Trump mused about a second meeting, Putin smiled and said in English: “Next time in Moscow”.

The former KGB agent tried to flatter Trump, who has voiced admiration for the Russian leader in the past.

Before the summit, Trump had warned of “severe consequences” if Russia did not accept a ceasefire.

But when asked about those consequences during a Fox News interview after the talks, Trump said that “because of what happened today, I think I don’t have to think about that now.”

Putin warns Western allies

Trump, whose tone with Zelensky has changed since he berated the Ukrainian President at the White House in February, told Fox that “now it’s really up to President Zelenskyy to get it done”.

Trump could not get Russian agreement to get Zelensky into Friday’s talks. But Zelenskyy, who has rejected suggestions that Ukraine give up territory, said Saturday that he supported the American efforts.

“It is important that America’s strength has an impact on the development of the situation,” he said.

Putin warned Ukraine and European countries to “not create any obstacles” and not “make attempts to disrupt this emerging progress through provocation or behind-the-scenes intrigues”.

Russia in recent days has made battlefield gains that could strengthen Putin’s hand in any ceasefire negotiations.

Although Ukraine announced as Putin was flying in that it had retaken several villages, Russia’s army on Saturday claimed the capture of Kolodyazi in Ukraine’s Donetsk region and Vorone in the neighbouring Dnipropetrovsk region.

- Agence France-Presse