--- description: Trump will meet Putin in Alaska for Ukraine talks next week. But Zelensky has already objected to being left out of the negotiations. title: A Trump-Putin Summit Is Set. Here's What You Need to Know image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3d85859543092174/6998c5ff93610c2addc2f935/GettyImages-1000100354.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Donald Trump](/tag/donald-trump/) ## Donald Trump Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Trump Will Meet Putin in Alaska For Ukraine Talks Next Week. Here’s What You Need to Know  by [Solcyré Burga](/author/solcyre-burga/)  ## Solcyré Burga Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Reporter Aug 9, 2025 4:19 PM CUT  President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin at a meeting in Helsinki, Finland, on July 16, 2018. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin at a meeting in Helsinki, Finland, on July 16, 2018.Brendan Smialowski—Getty Images  by [Solcyré Burga](/author/solcyre-burga/)  ## Solcyré Burga Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Reporter Aug 9, 2025 4:19 PM CUT President Donald Trump will meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Friday to discuss a [potential ceasefire in Ukraine](https://time.com/7308021/lukashenko-belarus-minsk-backchannel-trump-putin/ "undefined"), marking the first time the leaders of the two countries have held talks since 2021\. Trump claimed the conflict “could be solved very soon” as he announced the summit at the White House on Friday, on the [deadline Trump had imposed on Putin](https://time.com/7307971/trump-deadline-russia-india-oil/ "undefined") to finalize a peace deal or face potential financial penalties. But the prospect of the negotiations succeeding was quickly thrown into doubt after Trump suggested that Ukraine would have to cede territory to Russia as part of any peace deal. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky [quickly and pointedly rejected](https://time.com/7308658/zelensky-trump-putin-peace-talks/ "undefined") any potential deal that would involve handing over Ukrainian territory. “The answer to Ukraine’s territorial question is already in the constitution of Ukraine,” he said in a Saturday video statement on Telegram. “Ukrainians will not gift their land to the occupier.” **Read more**: [_The Secret White House Backchannel That Paved the Way For Trump’s Summit With Putin_](https://time.com/7308021/lukashenko-belarus-minsk-backchannel-trump-putin/ "undefined") Trump vowed to broker a peace deal to end the war in Ukraine within the first 24 hours of his second presidential term, and has previously expressed [disappointment](https://time.com/7305894/donald-trump-russia-ukraine-deadline/ "undefined") at Russia’s lack of movement towards peace as he continuously moves the ceasefire deadline forward. Friday’s meeting will be the first time two sitting U.S. and Russian presidents have met since 2021—when then-President Joe Biden met the Russian leader in Geneva—and the first time Putin and Trump have met since 2019\. It is also the first time in a decade that Putin has set foot in the U.S. Yury Ushakov, a Kremlin presidential aide, [told](https://www.cnn.com/2025/08/08/politics/trump-putin-meeting "undefined") CNN that Trump has already been invited to a follow-up meeting in Russia. Here’s what to know about the upcoming meeting in Alaska. ## Both Trump and Putin want Ukraine to give up land The success of a ceasefire deal hinges on Trump’s ability to convince Ukraine to agree to Putin’s list of demands, which involves Kyiv giving up large parts of its territory. “We’re going to get some back, and we’re going to get some switched,” the President said Friday at the White House. “There’ll be some swapping of territories to the betterment of both.” The Trump Administration has long argued that Ukraine would have to give up land in exchange for peace. Speaking in March this year, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said it would be “very difficult for Ukraine in any reasonable time period to sort of force the Russians back all the way to where they were in 2014,” and called for Kyiv to make “concessions” to achieve peace. Russian officials have reportedly presented U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff with a list of ceasefire demands that include Ukraine giving up the eastern Donbas region, most of which is already occupied by Russia, as well as Crimea, [according to CNN](https://www.cnn.com/2025/08/08/politics/trump-putin-meeting "undefined"). (The latter was [transferred](https://www.britannica.com/place/Crimea/History "undefined") from Russia to Ukraine in 1954, but was later illegally annexed by Russia in 2014.) Trump has not publicly confirmed the details of the potential deal, but Zelensky has outright rejected the notion that the country would allow Russia to take over any of its territory and spoken out against the idea of facilitating peace talks without the presence of Ukraine. “Any decisions made against us, any decisions made without Ukraine, are at the same time decisions against peace. They will bring nothing,” Zelensky said in his video address. Foreign Minister David Lammy and Vice President J.D. Vance are due to meet Ukrainian and European leaders in the U.K. on Saturday to discuss the peace negotiations, a British spokesperson told Reuters. Thus far, Trump has not publicly remarked on Zelensky’s stance on the upcoming Alaska meeting. But the President previously criticized Zelensky for being stubborn in his position for a ceasefire deal and claimed he is “not ready for peace.” Ukraine appears to have the backing of the European Union. French President [Emmanuel Macron](https://x.com/EmmanuelMacron/status/1953522935375048824 "undefined"), Danish Prime Minister [Mette Frederiksen](https://x.com/ZelenskyyUa/status/1954147407983247582 "undefined"), Estonian Prime Minister [Kristen Michal](https://x.com/ZelenskyyUa/status/1954135368053256286 "undefined"), and U.K. Prime Minister [Keir Starmer](https://x.com/ZelenskyyUa/status/1954131954766377013 "undefined") all spoke with Zelensky on Saturday to share their support for Ukrainian sovereignty and the end of the war. “The Russians still refuse to stop the killings, still invest in the war, and still push the idea of ‘exchanging’ Ukrainian territory for Ukrainian territory, with consequences that guarantee nothing except more favorable positions for Russia to resume the war,” Zelensky [said](https://x.com/ZelenskyyUa/status/1954147407983247582 "undefined") on X. “All our steps must bring us closer to a real end to the war, not its reconfiguration.” ## But Putin wants more than land The Kremlin’s demands extend beyond a desire for land. As part of any agreement, Putin has reportedly called for Ukraine to give up its quest to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), a European and North American alliance of which the United States is a founding member. A similar demand was made by Russia in June last year during that round of peace negotiations. NATO has been a strong supporter of Ukraine, supplying the smaller country with billions in military aid, weapons, and ammunition. Ukraine has been approved for NATO membership and is [currently](https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/topics%5F192648.htm "undefined") a “partner country.” Other former Soviet republics, including Georgia and Moldova, would also be affected by the peace deal pledge. The Kremlin also asked for the lifting of Western sanctions, protection for Russian speakers in Ukraine, and a resolution to unfreeze the $300 billion in Russian sovereign assets that are currently being held in Europe, _Reuters_ [reports](https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/putin-ukraine-peace-wants-pledge-halt-nato-enlargement-sources-say-2025-05-28/ "undefined"). The funds were frozen after the U.S. and other countries [banned](https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/russia-could-concede-300-bln-frozen-assets-part-ukraine-war-settlement-sources-2025-02-21/ "undefined") transactions with Russia’s central bank after the country invaded Ukraine in 2022\. ## Alaska is significant The decision to hold a summit in Alaska has been criticized in part by some officials who are wary of welcoming Putin to the U.S. Former Trump national security advisor John Bolton denounced the meeting. “This is not quite as bad as Trump inviting the Taliban to Camp David to talk about the peace negotiations in Afghanistan, but it certainly reminds one of that, Bolton told CNN. “The only better place for Putin than Alaska would be if the summit were being held in Moscow. So, the initial setup, I think, is a great victory for Putin,” he added. Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska said that while she saw the summit as a chance to “forge meaningful agreements.” She was also “wary of Putin and his regime. “I hope these discussions lead to genuine progress and help end the war on equitable terms,” she said in a [post](https://x.com/lisamurkowski/status/1953980321156018300?s=46 "undefined") on X. The “Last Frontier” state is also of historic significance to Russia, which [sold](https://history.state.gov/milestones/1866-1898/alaska-purchase "undefined") the territory to the United States in 1867 for $7.2 million, despite its interest in the region’s wealth of natural resources. The deal [marked](https://history.state.gov/milestones/1866-1898/alaska-purchase "undefined") an end to Russian presence in North America. Some Russian nationalists [have reportedly called](https://www.the-independent.com/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-putin-alaska-meeting-ukraine-b2804697.html "undefined") for the return of Alaska to Russia, experts say. “Trump has chosen to host Putin in a part of the former Russian Empire. Wonder if he knows that Russian nationalists claim that losing Alaska, like Ukraine, was a raw deal for Moscow that needs to be corrected,” [wrote](https://x.com/McFaul/status/1953959974360805585 "undefined") Stanford University political science professor Michael McFaul on X. In 2022, a billboard stating “Alaska is Ours,” was [seen](https://www.euronews.com/my-europe/2022/07/12/alaska-is-ours-local-russian-advertisement-sparks-outrage-on-social-media "undefined") in the Russian town of Krasnoyarsk. Local officials then told the press that the billboard was part of a “private initiative.” Meanwhile, Russia has remained firm in its military campaign against Ukraine despite such international pressure. Over the weekend, Russian drones continued their attacks on Ukraine, launching more than 45 drone strikes across Ukraine. At least two people died and another six were injured after a strike hit a minibus. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/7308684/trump-putin-alaska-talks-ukraine/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/7308684/trump-putin-alaska-talks-ukraine/"},"headline":"Trump Will Meet Putin in Alaska For Ukraine Talks Next Week. Here’s What You Need to Know","datePublished":"2025-08-09T16:19:53.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-11T01:41:32.346Z","description":"Trump will meet Putin in Alaska to negotiate a ceasefire in Ukraine. 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