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   Trump Rolled Out the Red Carpet for Putin. He Got Little in Return.   
   Alaska meeting between U. S. president and Russian leader appears to yield   
   no breakthroughs   
   WSJs Meridith McGraw explains what happened, and whats next. Photo: Gavriil   
   Grigorov/Press Pool   
   By   
   Lara Seligman   
   ,   
   Thomas Grove   
   and   
   Meridith McGraw   
   Updated Aug. 16, 2025 9:17 am ET   
   ANCHORAGE, AlaskaPresident Trump welcomed his Russian counterpart to Alaska   
   with the former showmans signature extravagance: a red carpet, a military   
   flyover and a ride in the presidential limousine.   
   But Trump headed back to Washington with little to show for all the   
   pageantry.   
   The U. S. president and Russian leader Vladimir Putin ended their highly   
   anticipated meeting without announcing a breakthrough, leaving the path   
   toward ending the war in Ukraine unclear. By Friday evening, Trump, who had   
   taken a risk in inviting the sanctioned Kremlin leader to the U. S. , was   
   stuck in the same predicament he faced days prior: Putin remains unwilling   
   to end the 312-year war without concessions on Ukraines future.   
   Both men staked their political reputations on a successful summit, and   
   Putin appears to have gained the upper hand. The Russian president was   
   treated as an equal on U. S. soil, managed to sidestep any potential   
   American sanctions for now and announced no battlefield concessions. Trump,   
   who vowed on the campaign trail to end the war on his first day in office,   
   failed to secure even a temporary cease-fire.   
   The site of a Russian strike in Kyiv, Ukraine.   
   Early Saturday morning, Trump dropped his previous demand for a cease-fire,   
   writing on social media that the best way to end the war is to go directly   
   to a Peace Agreement. That strategy echoes Putins preferred approach and   
   would allow the fighting to continue until a deal is reached.   
   Trump said he would meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the   
   White House on Monday. He told European leaders in a phone call from Air   
   Force One that he is more willing than before for the U. S. to provide   
   direct security guarantees to Ukraine, according to people familiar with   
   the content of the conversation.   
   Theres no deal until theres a deal, Trump told reporters at a news   
   conference after the summit. The typically talkative U. S. president took   
   no questions from the dozens of journalists assembled before him. He said   
   the delegations made progress on key issues, but added, We havent quite got   
   there.   
   Putin, in remarks following the meeting, gave no indication he was prepared   
   to agree to a cease-fire, repeating that Moscow wanted the root causes of   
   the conflict addresseda phrase that refers to Moscows demands to   
   demilitarize Kyiv and block its hopes for membership in the North Atlantic   
   Treaty Organization. The Russian leader, however, offered Trump a political   
   fig leaf, echoing the U. S. presidents assertion that Russia wouldnt have   
   invaded Ukraine in 2022 if the Republican was in office instead of former   
   President Joe Biden. I can confirm that, Putin said.   
   In contrast to the handshakes and smiles that characterized the start of   
   their meeting on the taxiway at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Putin and   
   Trump looked stone-faced during much of the news conference. Putin spoke   
   for roughly eight minutes. Trump then spoke for three minutes, before they   
   both left.   
   The red carpet was cleaned before President Trump stepped from Air Force   
   One in Anchorage, Alaska, on Friday.   
   Putin and Trump after their arrival in Anchorage.   
   Following the summit, Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski, a Republican, said she   
   was cautiously optimistic that some progress was made, despite few public   
   details.   
   The meeting underscored the challenge of bringing the conflict to an end.   
   Even as the delegations met, Russian military forces launched new attacks   
   targeting Ukraines eastern regions, according to the Ukrainian air force.   
   In an interview with Fox News after Fridays summit, Trump said he would   
   hold off for now on imposing new sanctions on Russia. We dont have to think   
   about that right now, I think, you know the meeting went very well, he   
   said, adding that he may reassess whether sanctions are needed in two to   
   three weeks. Asked by Fox News anchor Sean Hannity if the war would end   
   with Russia gaining more territory and Ukraine getting security support,   
   Trump said: Those are points that we negotiated, and those are points that   
   we largely have agreed on.   
   Trump, in the interview, offered advice to Zelensky: Make a deal.   
   Russia is a very big power, and theyre not, Trump said of Ukraine.   
   The aftermath of a Russian drone explosion at a market in Sumy, Ukraine, on   
   Friday.   
   Even before the meeting officially began, Putin, who has been sanctioned by   
   the U. S. and largely snubbed on the world stage, racked up a series of   
   symbolic wins.   
   Trump waited onboard Air Force One for 30 minutes before the Russian   
   presidents plane touched down. The U. S. president greeted his Russian   
   counterpart warmly, applauding as he walked down a red carpet and shook his   
   hand. After posing for photos, both men got into the U. S. presidents   
   armored limousine, known as the Beast, giving Putin the one-on-one time   
   with Trump that some of the American presidents advisers sought to avoid.   
   Photographers caught the Russian leader smiling as he sat next to Trump in   
   the limo. It isnt unusual for an American president to invite a foreign   
   leader for an intimate ride in the presidents motorcade. But Putin has   
   repeatedly thumbed his nose at Trumps calls to stop the war in Ukraine,   
   which has killed or injured more than a million people on both sides.   
   Flattery doesnt work to change Putins mind. He sees it as weakness, said   
   Mick Mulroy, a former Pentagon official during Trumps first term. And   
   therefore something to be exploited.   
   Trumps reception of Putin was markedly different from the way the U. S.   
   president treated Zelensky during a February visit to the Oval Office.   
   Trump and Vice President JD Vance berated the Ukrainian president for not,   
   in their view, showing sufficient gratitude for U. S. support in the war.   
   Relations between Trump and Zelensky have subsequently improved.   
   Trump, a former reality-television star who focuses intently on stage-   
   managing his public events, also sent a message to Putin about Americas   
   military might. Trump and Putin walked down a red carpet flanked on either   
   side by F-22 stealth fighters and, as the two leaders stepped onto a riser   
   with the words ALASKA 2025, a nuclear-capable B-2 bomber and four F-35 jet   
   fighters roared overhead.   
   Russian and American delegations in Alaska.   
   The apparent absence of any binding steps for the Russian side to follow   
      
   [continued in next message]   
      
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