Trump–Putin Alaska Meeting: It All Begins with a Single Step

Despite an ongoing war in Europe for over two years, the Russian and American Presidents have not spoken directly with each other, and the two countries have not held a joint summit for over four years. While one nuclear superpower was directly involved in the war in Ukraine and another nuclear power was indirectly engaged, neither world leader made any effort to pursue diplomatic solutions to stop the conflict. Donald Trump was inaugurated as president in January 2025, and it was only then that US–Russian relations started to unfreeze. It first started with negotiations in Saudi Arabia, followed by phone calls between Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump. Ultimately, the restoration of relations between the United States and the Russian Federation enabled the historic meeting yesterday at the Joint Base Elmendorf–Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska.

While under President Biden, an international ICC arrest warrant was issued against President Putin; now, the Russian President received a red-carpet welcome in the United States. As Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán warned earlier: demonizing President Putin ‘block[s] the only path to peace’, while receiving the Russian President as an equal partner fosters trust and therefore, enables a diplomatic solution that is the only way to bring peace to Europe. ‘The Trump–Putin meeting is good news, because without them there will be no ceasefire,’ Prime Minister Orbán said.

Although no concrete deal or agreement was announced following the bilateral meeting in Alaska, details about the nearly three-hour-long discussion were not shared with the public. The Russian and US leaders, however, expressed their satisfaction with the ‘great progress’ they had made. After the meeting between the two Presidents and their top advisers was concluded in his seven-minute address to the press, Russian President Putin echoed his earlier position that any settlement in Ukraine must address the ‘root causes’ of the conflict. After President Putin concluded his remarks, President Trump also gave a brief speech, which lasted roughly half the time as President Putin’s—and without saying even once the word ‘Ukraine’. In his speech, Trump vowed to call NATO leaders and Zelenskyy to discuss the progress made on the Alaska summit. He noted that there is only one significant issue left to discuss, but he remains optimistic that ‘we have a very good chance of getting there’.

Closing the press conference, President Putin addressed Donald Trump in English and invited the American leader to meet ‘next time in Moscow’. It is an extremely rare occasion to hear the Russian President speaking in English. Responding to Putin’s unexpected offer, President Trump said: ‘Oh, that is an interesting one. I do not know. I will get a little heat on that one, but I could see it possibly happening. Thank you very much, Vladimir.’

‘For years we have watched the two biggest nuclear powers dismantle the framework of their cooperation…That has now come to an end’

Commenting on the prospects of peace, President Donald Trump said in a Fox News interview shortly after the meeting in Alaska that the time period needed to seal a peace deal could be ‘fairly short’. US President Trump also made it clear that he is not planning on introducing punitive measures against Russia as of now, due to the progress made in the talks. ‘Now it’s really up to President Zelenskyy to get it done,’ Trump said in the interview. Later, the US President wrote in a post on Truth Social that he will be welcoming President Zelenskyy to the Oval Office on Monday afternoon to discuss the next steps forward. President Trump also announced that soon the details of a trilateral meeting, including the American, Ukrainian and Russian Presidents, will also be finalized ‘if all works out’ on the Monday meeting with Zelenskyy.

Celebrating the meeting between the two world leaders, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said on X: ‘For years we have watched the two biggest nuclear powers dismantle the framework of their cooperation and shoot unfriendly messages back and forth. That has now come to an end. Today, the world is a safer place than it was yesterday. May every weekend be at least this good!’

While peace still hangs in the balance, it is now clear that the EU leaders are the ultimate losers of the US–Russian negotiations in Alaska. As the Hungarian leader warned earlier, due to their warmongering and lack of strategic vision, European leaders did not have a place at the negotiating table with the American and Russian leaders. Brussels is left out of crucial decisions that will determine the fate of the European continent for the time to come, while Europe and European leaders are left looking ‘weak’ and ‘pitiful’. Lamenting Brussels’s failure to take a leading role in bringing peace to Europe, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said: ‘The desire for greatness has disappeared from European leaders.’

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