US President Donald Trump has announced that he will meet Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska next Friday, after earlier in the day outlining the broad terms of a potential peace deal to end the war in Ukraine that could involve “some swapping of territories.”
“The highly anticipated meeting between myself, as President of the United States of America, and President Vladimir Putin, of Russia, will take place next Friday, August 15, 2025, in the Great State of Alaska. Further details to follow,” Trump posted on Truth Social on Friday evening.
The announcement came on the day Trump had set as a deadline for Putin to make peace or face severe economic sanctions. It marks a significant moment in the US president’s relationship with the Russian leader, who has not visited the United States since 2015 and has not met Trump since 2018.
According to Western officials, US representatives — including Trump — have briefed European and Ukrainian leaders on a proposal put forward by Putin to halt the conflict in exchange for major territorial concessions by Kyiv. The plan, delivered to Trump’s foreign envoy Steve Witkoff during a meeting in Moscow on Wednesday, calls for Ukraine to cede the eastern Donbas region, most of which is already under Russian control, as well as Crimea, which Russia illegally annexed in 2014.
The proposal would freeze the current battle lines, but further details remain unclear. European officials have expressed concern that the plan could be an attempt by Putin to avoid Trump’s threatened sanctions while offering little substantive compromise.
Nevertheless, the proposal appears to have prompted Trump to arrange the summit. Additional consultations with European leaders have taken place in recent days, involving both Witkoff and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
It is uncertain what the plan would mean for the Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions, where Russia controls parts of the territory, or how it would address Putin’s other conditions for ending the war — such as Ukraine permanently forgoing NATO membership or limiting the size of its armed forces.
Witkoff has told European counterparts that the proposal was a step in the right direction and that a broader peace agreement could be negotiated once hostilities cease. Washington has been seeking allied support for the plan, though it is unclear whether consensus will be reached.
The prospect of Ukraine officially recognising Russian control over Donetsk and Luhansk has alarmed some European officials, who warn it could embolden Moscow to launch future offensives. “Official recognition of territory conquered by force without a cost is an incentive to do more in the future,” one European diplomat said.
Despite recent frustration with Putin over the drawn-out conflict, Trump struck a more optimistic tone on Friday. “The European leaders want to see peace. President Putin, I believe, wants to see peace, and Zelensky wants to see peace,” he told reporters at the White House before confirming the Alaska meeting.
However, any territorial concessions would be unconstitutional in Ukraine, requiring parliamentary approval or a national referendum. Trump appeared to play down the obstacle, saying he had encouraged Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to move quickly towards an agreement.
Earlier this week, Trump threatened fresh sanctions on Russia if Putin did not end the war by Friday, but softened his stance on Thursday, saying the decision was “up to” the Russian leader. He also confirmed that a meeting between Putin and Zelensky was not a prerequisite for his own talks with Putin.
