Trump and Putin to spar over Ukraine peace and arms control at Alaska summit

15/8/2025 15:27

Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin hold talks in Alaska on Friday, with the U.S. president's hopes of sealing a ceasefire agreement on Ukraine uncertain but with a last gasp offer from Putin of a possible nuclear deal that could help both men save face.



The meeting of the Russian and U.S. leaders at a Cold War-era air force base in Alaska will be their first face-to-face talks since Trump returned to the White House and comes amid Ukrainian and European fears that Trump might sell Kyiv out.



The White House said the meeting will take place at 11 a.m Alaska time.



Trump, who once said he would end Russia's war in Ukraine within 24 hours, said on Thursday the three-and-a-half-year conflict had proven a tougher nut to crack than he had thought.



He said if his talks with Putin went well, setting up a subsequent three-way summit with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy - who was not invited to Friday's meeting - would be even more important than his encounter with Putin.



Trump is pressing for a truce to bolster his credentials as a global peacemaker worthy of the Nobel Peace Prize, something he has made clear is important to him.