On August 15, 2025, the icy runways of Anchorage, Alaska, became the unlikely stage for a geopolitical spectacle that drew gasps, jokes, and more than a few raised eyebrows from around the world. Former President Donald Trump, back in the global spotlight, rolled out a literal red carpet for Russian President Vladimir Putin at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson. The summit, held during Alaska’s tourist season and at a U.S. military base, was as much about optics as substance—though what it lacked in concrete agreements, it made up for in symbolism and controversy.
According to Foreign Policy editor-in-chief Ravi Agrawal, world leaders watched the event unfold and, in many cases, ridiculed Trump for the warm and robust greeting he gave Putin, who remains accused of war crimes by the International Criminal Court. Agrawal told MSNBC, “America, which stood up for these things—stood up for the rules-based order—didn’t sign up to the ICC and has a war criminal on its soil, has mistreated democratically elected leaders, but welcomes Vladimir Putin with a robust handshake and a literal red carpet, which you do not see with other leaders in the same way.” The message, Agrawal argued, was clear: “The rules don’t matter. Friendships don’t matter, democracy doesn’t matter.”
The meeting’s location itself became fodder for late-night television. As Jimmy Fallon joked on The Tonight Show, “Trump’s meeting with Vladimir Putin is almost here, and today, Trump warned that Russia will face severe consequences if Putin doesn’t agree to end the war… Putin responded, ‘Like, what, a second meeting? Forget this.’” The idea of two world leaders negotiating peace in Alaska, while the Marriott conference room was tied up with a salmon retreat, captured the event’s almost surreal quality.
But behind the humor lay deadly serious stakes. The war in Ukraine raged on, with tens of thousands killed or injured by Russian missiles and drones. As ABC News reported, Putin arrived in Anchorage exuding confidence and charm, greeting Trump with smiles and even sharing a ride in the presidential limousine, the Beast. The image of the two, side by side in the bulletproof car, was striking—especially as just a year prior, then-President Joe Biden had called for Putin’s arrest over alleged war crimes.
The summit itself lasted about three hours. When the time came for their joint news conference, Putin broke protocol by speaking first, declaring an “understanding” had been reached about Ukraine. Yet, as The Spokesman-Review noted, no details were shared. Instead, Putin offered a warning to European leaders, saying, “I would like to hope that the agreement that we’ve reached together will help us bring closer that goal and will pave the path towards peace in Ukraine. We expect that Kyiv and European capitals will perceive that constructively and that they won’t throw a wrench in the works.” He cautioned against “backroom dealings” or provocations that could undermine “nascent progress.”
Trump’s own remarks were brief—surprisingly so for a man known to relish the spotlight. “There’s no deal until there’s a deal,” he said, adding that he would “call up NATO in a little while” and brief President Zelenskyy of Ukraine about the meeting. Yet, Trump admitted, “we didn’t get there” on the main issue of ending the war in Ukraine. On Air Force One before landing in Alaska, Trump had set the bar for success: a ceasefire. Failing that, he said, would make him “very unhappy.” After the summit, his only concrete plan was to make “a few phone calls.”
The absence of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and European allies from the summit was not lost on observers. House Foreign Affairs Committee ranking member Gregory W. Meeks told CNN, “If you really want to put pressure on Russia and you want to get something done, the person that you should be talking to first is President Zelenskyy and our allies, our European allies.” He added, “The strength should be coming from the United States, working with Ukraine and our European allies, giving the Ukrainians what they need to support themselves and to defend themselves—not allowing Russia to dictate what’s going on in this war.”
The structure of the meeting itself shifted at the last minute. Initially planned as a one-on-one, it became a “three-on-three” after pushback from European leaders and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio. On the American side, Rubio and Trump’s long-time friend Steve Witkoff joined. Putin was flanked by Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and foreign affairs aide Yuri Ushakov. This change, reported by The Spokesman-Review, suggested a lack of trust in an unsupervised Trump-Putin tête-à-tête.
Putin, for his part, made clear that Russia’s attack on Ukraine would continue, repeating his long-standing justification that NATO’s “encroachment” near Russia’s borders was the root cause. “Russia needed to eliminate all the primary causes that led to the war,” he said, signaling no change in course. Trump, unable to secure even a conditional ceasefire or a promise for Putin to meet with Zelenskyy, was left empty-handed.
The Russian delegation included several economic advisers and business tycoons, including Kirill Dmitriev, head of the Russian Direct Investment Fund. The presence of these figures signaled Moscow’s interest in exploring economic cooperation with Washington, despite ongoing hostilities in Ukraine. Putin himself called for “cooperation” on digital, high-tech, and space projects, as well as Arctic exploration—a region of growing strategic competition.
For many analysts and lawmakers, the summit was a diplomatic win for Putin. He appeared to gain legitimacy on the world stage, used the platform to reinforce his narrative about Ukraine, and signaled a desire for economic engagement with the U.S.—all without making any real concessions. As ABC News put it, “Vladimir Putin has had a complete victory.”
Meanwhile, Trump’s literal red-carpet welcome for Putin, the handshake, the shared limousine ride, and the muted press conference all became fodder for both ridicule and concern. The flyover by U.S. F-22 Raptors and a B-2 bomber during the greeting was perhaps the only moment that hinted at the gravity of the stakes. The rest, for many, was pageantry—leaving the war in Ukraine unresolved and America’s allies uncertain about where Washington stands.
The day ended with Putin inviting Trump to a follow-up meeting in Moscow, a move that would again sideline Ukraine’s president. As the two leaders departed, world leaders, pundits, and ordinary citizens alike were left to ponder: was this a step toward peace, or just another round in a high-stakes game with no winners in sight?
