Trump and Putin Meet For A Summit in Alaska. What Are the Views From Moscow and Kyiv?

Summary

Trump and Putin Meet for High-Stakes Summit in Alaska: Perspectives from Moscow and Kyiv

On August 15, 2025, a pivotal moment in international relations unfolded as former President Donald Trump hosted Russian President Vladimir Putin in Anchorage, Alaska for a high-stakes summit aimed at addressing the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. This meeting, broadcast on NPR’s Up First, delves into the multifaceted dynamics, expectations, and repercussions of the summit from both Moscow and Kyiv perspectives.

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1. Setting the Stage: The Alaska Summit

The summit between Trump and Putin marks a significant attempt to de-escalate tensions stemming from Russia’s prolonged war in Ukraine. Michelle Martin introduces the event, highlighting the transformation of Putin from an international pariah to a leader engaged in peace talks on U.S. soil.

Michelle Martin [00:02]: "President Trump hosts his Russian counterpart in Alaska today."

Trump's approach is assertive, emphasizing his authority and determination.

Donald Trump [00:05]: "I am president and he's not going to mess around with me."

However, the inclusion of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy remains a contentious issue, as Russia insists on bilateral discussions between the U.S. and Russia before involving Ukraine.

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2. Summit Proceedings: What to Expect

NPR Senior White House Correspondent Tamara Keith provides a detailed rundown of the summit’s agenda and logistics.

Tamara Keith [02:57]: "Trump and Putin will first meet one on one with just the two leaders and their translators."

The meeting is scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. local time, followed by a working lunch with advisors. Notably, a joint press conference is planned, reminiscent of their 2018 Helsinki meeting, which was widely criticized.

Trump expresses optimism about the potential outcomes:

Donald Trump [02:30]: "If it's a good meeting, we're going to end up getting Peace in the pretty near future."

However, he also warns of swift consequences if the talks do not yield positive results.

Donald Trump [02:50]: "There could be consequences for Russia if something meaningful doesn't happen here today."

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3. Moscow’s Perspective: Strategic Security and Economic Cooperation

From Moscow, NPR’s Charles Mainz offers insights into Russia’s strategic interests during the summit.

Charles Mainz [07:08]: "Putin says he's grateful to Trump and his administration for their energetic and sincere efforts to end the conflict in Ukraine."

Putin appears open to discussing broader strategic security issues, including nuclear arms control, which is timely given the impending expiration of the New START treaty in early 2026.

Charles Mainz [07:28]: "A nuclear deal would seem to appeal to Trump's desire to be seen as a global peacemaker."

Additionally, Russia is eyeing economic cooperation, particularly in the Arctic, signaling a potential avenue for joint investments and mineral deals.

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4. Kyiv’s Perspective: Exclusion and Concerns over Concessions

In Kyiv, NPR’s Greg Myhre captures the Ukrainian viewpoint, which is largely skeptical about the summit's potential for meaningful progress.

Greg Myhre [09:40]: "Nothing substantive will come out of this summit. They think Putin is still fully committed to the war and won't agree to a real ceasefire, let alone an end to the conflict."

Ukrainians are particularly concerned about being excluded from the negotiations, fearing that any deal brokered without their participation may force Ukraine into unfavorable concessions.

Greg Myhre [10:35]: "There are some Ukrainians who fear that Putin and Trump might reach some sort of arrangement and then Ukraine will face pressure to accept it."

Despite these concerns, Ukrainian President Zelenskyy has been actively rallying support across Europe, emphasizing that any lasting peace must include Ukraine’s voice at the table.

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5. Public Opinion in Ukraine: Exhaustion vs. Resolve

Public sentiment in Ukraine reflects a complex mix of war-weariness and steadfast resolve. Polls indicate that while a majority of Ukrainians are open to negotiating an end to the war, there is strong resistance against relinquishing any territories currently controlled by Russia.

Greg Myhre [12:06]: "We've seen two interesting polls this month. A Gallup poll asked Ukrainians if they now favored and negotiated into the war. Right around 70% said yes, they would. But a poll by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology asked Ukrainians if they would accept giving up territory that Russia now holds. 76% said no, this is not acceptable."

This dichotomy underscores the delicate balance Ukraine must maintain between seeking peace and defending its sovereignty.

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6. Potential Outcomes and Implications

The summit's success hinges on the ability of Trump and Putin to navigate entrenched positions and external pressures. Possible outcomes range from a partial ceasefire on air attacks, which could humanitarianly benefit civilians but strategically undermine Ukraine’s defense capabilities, to broader agreements on economic and nuclear issues.

Tamara Keith highlights Trump’s frustration with Putin’s inconsistent stance on peace:

Tamara Keith [05:02]: "Trump has been growing increasingly frustrated with Putin for saying he wants peace while continuing to bomb civilians in Ukraine."

The absence of a clear and specific agenda for the summit raises questions about the feasibility of achieving concrete results, especially amidst ongoing military engagements and shifting geopolitical landscapes.

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7. Looking Ahead: The Future of U.S.-Russia Relations

As the summit concludes, the international community watches closely to assess the future trajectory of U.S.-Russia relations and the broader implications for global stability. The potential for renewed arms control agreements alongside initiatives for economic cooperation could signify a thaw in relations, but the overriding imperative remains the resolution of the conflict in Ukraine.

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Conclusion

The Alaska summit between Trump and Putin represents a critical juncture in efforts to resolve the Ukraine conflict and reshape U.S.-Russia relations. While there is cautious optimism about the possibilities for diplomatic and economic cooperation, significant challenges remain, particularly concerning Ukraine’s role and the ongoing military tensions. As the world awaits the outcomes of this high-stakes meeting, the perspectives from Moscow and Kyiv provide essential context for understanding the complex interplay of interests at play.

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Notable Quotes with Attribution and Timestamps:

• Donald Trump [00:05]: "I am president and he's not going to mess around with me."
• Donald Trump [02:30]: "If it's a bad meeting, it'll end very quickly. And if it's a good meeting, we're going to end up getting Peace in the pretty near future."
• Charles Mainz [07:08]: "Putin says he's grateful to Trump and his administration for their energetic and sincere efforts to end the conflict in Ukraine."
• Greg Myhre [09:40]: "Nothing substantive will come out of this summit."
• Greg Myhre [12:06]: "We've seen two interesting polls this month. A Gallup poll asked Ukrainians if they now favored and negotiated into the war. Right around 70% said yes, they would. But a poll by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology asked Ukrainians if they would accept giving up territory that Russia now holds. 76% said no, this is not acceptable."

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This comprehensive summary encapsulates the key discussions, insights, and viewpoints presented in the Up First episode titled "Trump and Putin Meet For A Summit in Alaska. What Are the Views From Moscow and Kyiv?" Released on August 15, 2025, it provides a detailed overview for listeners and non-listeners alike, highlighting the complexities and stakes involved in this significant diplomatic engagement.

Transcript

[Michelle Martin]

President Trump hosts his Russian counterpart in Alaska today.

[Donald Trump]

I am president and he's not going to mess around with me.

[Tamara Keith]

But can Trump convince Vladimir Putin to end the war in Ukraine fairly?

[Michelle Martin]

I'm Michelle Martin. That's a Martinez. And this is up first from NPR News. Putin was once an international pariah because of Russia's war in Ukraine, but now he's being hosted at a high stakes peace summit on US Soil. How much of an opportunity for diplomatic and economic cooperation with the U.S. does the summit provide?

[Tamara Keith]

And Russia has pushed back against including Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in peace talks until Moscow and Washington first clinch a deal. What concessions might Ukraine be forced to make? Stay with us. We've got all the news you need to start your day.

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[Tamara Keith]

President Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin meet today in Anchorage, Alaska for a high stakes summit aimed at ending Russia's war with Ukraine.

[Michelle Martin]

At least that's Trump's stated goal.

[Donald Trump]

And if it's a bad meeting, it'll end very quickly. And if it's a good meeting, we're going to end up getting Peace in the pretty near future.

[Michelle Martin]

But Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was not invited. That meeting, Trump says, could come next.

[Donald Trump]

All I want to do is set the table for the next meeting, which should happen shortly. I'd like to see it happen very quickly, very shortly after this meeting.

[Tamara Keith]

NPR senior White House correspondent Tamara Keith is in Anchorage. Tam, what's expected for this big summit?

This will all take place at Joint Base Elmendorf Richardson on the outskirts of Anchorage. The meeting is set to start at 11am local time out here. That's 3pm on the east Coast. Trump and Putin will first meet one on one with just the two leaders and their translators. Trump has said he will be feeling out Putin and whether he's serious about ending the war after numerous phone calls over the past six months that really haven't moved the needle. Next, they'll be joined by their advisors for a working lunch. And yesterday the White House said that Trump and Putin will hold a joint press conference.

[Greg Myhre]

Really?

[Tamara Keith]

Okay, so I remember their last joint press conference. That was what, in Helsinki, Finland? 2018, I believe.

[Greg Myhre]

Right.

[Tamara Keith]

I remember. Was widely viewed as a bit of an embarrassment for the US at the time.

Yeah, that summit took place as a special counsel was investigating Russian meddling in the 2016 president election. That investigation is something that Trump is still raging about. He calls it the Russia, Russia, Russia hoax. So during that joint press conference, Putin denied any election interference, and Trump appeared to take Putin's side over that of the U.S. intelligence community. TRUMP faced incredible backlash at home among Republicans and Democrats alike and eventually walked back some of what he said. But now, seven years later, Trump says that summit was a success and he is positioning himself as uniquely able to handle Putin.

[Donald Trump]

If I weren't president, in my opinion, he would much rather take off, take over all of Ukraine. But I am president and he's not going to mess around with me.

[Tamara Keith]

In 2018, when Trump met with Putin, the domestic political stakes for Trump were quite high. But Trump was focused on terrorism and nuclear non proliferation. Looking back, those were much simpler times. Now Putin is four years into the latest chapter of this war and is testing US And European resolve.

Oh, for those simpler times, Tam. All right, so what does success look like from this meeting today?

Trump has been all over the map in terms of his expectations for the meeting. He's talked about the need to divvy up territory. That's something that Ukraine's president has opposed. Trump hasn't really been precise in what he wants to see today. And there are concerns that Trump could be wooed by happy talk from Putin about economic cooperation or something else that Trump can call a win. But Trump has been growing increasingly frustrated with Putin for saying he wants peace while continuing to bomb civilians in Ukraine. He said there could be consequences for Russia if something meaningful doesn't happen here today. And a reminder that he has allowed the sale of powerful weapon systems to NATO to help Ukraine and has threatened to punish countries like India for buying Russian oil. Now this meeting leaves an open question of what comes next as Russia makes gains on the battlefield.

That's NPR's Tamara Keith in Anchorage. Tamara, thanks.

You're welcome.

And now we have a look at how talks are being perceived in Moscow. And from Kyiv, Ukrainians are concerned that not being included in the summit will force the country to make concessions.

[Michelle Martin]

And although Russian President Vladimir Putin was once an international pariah because of the war, the Kremlin is portraying this summit as an opportunity for economic cooperation with.

[Tamara Keith]

The U.S. we'll be talking to our reporters who are covering this event, starting with Charles Mainnes, who joins us now on the line from Moscow. Charles? All right. What's the latest from Russia?

[Charles Mainz]

Yeah, good morning. You know, Vladimir Putin is on his way to Alaska. He's currently out in Russia's Far east in Magadan. The Kremlin says he'll visit a memorial in Fairbanks that pays tribute to U.S. soviet cooperation during World War II before the summit. No doubt tapping into symbolism from the past and time is something to pay attention to today due to a quirk of the international date line, in other words, to time zones. It's already Friday evening in Russia's Far East. But when Putin leaves Russia and heads across the Bering Strait and into the US it will be Friday morning in Alaska. So a bit of time travel, a nice trick if you can pull it off.

[Tamara Keith]

Yes, it does. Now let's turn to the summit itself. What do we know about Vladimir Putin's approach to the talks?

[Charles Mainz]

Well, you know, keep in mind that just a week ago, Putin faced this Trump ultimatum to stop the war by August 8th or face massive new sanctions and tariffs on Russian energy exports. Well, fast forward, he's about to have a summit meeting with an American president and on US Soil, no less. Now, before Putin left Moscow, he convened his key advisors to discuss the summit, and he had this message for Trump as well. So here Putin says he's grateful to Trump and his administration for their energetic and sincere efforts to end the conflict in Ukraine. And he suggested that the Alaska talks might also focus on strategic security. In other words, Nuclear arms control.

[Tamara Keith]

And what should we make of that?

[Charles Mainz]

Well, you know, progress on arms control is a good thing, particularly given the looming end of the new START treaty. This is the last major arms control deal between the US and Russia, which expires in early 2026. You know, but this gesture, it came after Trump resurfaced economic threats on Russia if this Alaska summit doesn't make progress on Ukraine. So it seems to be Russia tempting Trump with agreements beyond the Ukraine issue. A nuclear deal would seem to appeal to Trump's desire to be seen as a global peacemaker. And for Russia, you know, it certainly gives the Alaska summit a Cold War tableau. The superpowers back at the negotiating table for nuclear issues again. Putin traveling back in time.

[Michelle Martin]

Yeah.

[Tamara Keith]

Now are there any other areas where we so deals getting made?

[Charles Mainz]

Well, the Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov says this huge untapped potential of US Russian economic cooperation is also on the docket. So Russia clearly appealing to the businessmen in Trump. Russian officials have suggested that might include mineral deals in particular joint investments in the Arctic. You know, we'll have to see. But, you know, it would make sense to have some agreed upon deliverables, you know, given the more unpredictable nature of the Ukraine issue.

[Tamara Keith]

So speaking of Ukraine, let's go back to Ukraine for a second. Any reason to think progress can be made?

[Charles Mainz]

Well, no one thinks this war will end tomorrow. That said, Moscow may not want Trump to leave entirely empty handed from Anchorage. One area where we may see some deal making is a partial ceasefire on air attacks. This would allow Trump to legitimately say, look, this saves lives from Russian bombs, which it would, but it would also neutralize a key aspect of Ukraine's ability to punch back, namely with drones that can attack deep inside Russia, which again, they did this morning.

[Tamara Keith]

All right, that's NPR's Charles Mainz in Moscow. Thank you very much, Charles.

[Charles Mainz]

Thank you.

[Michelle Martin]

Get the view from Ukraine now. We'll go to Greg Myhre for this. He's in the capital of Kyiv. Greg, good morning.

[Greg Myhre]

Hi, Michelle.

[Michelle Martin]

So you've been talking to Ukrainians about the summit. What are they telling you?

[Greg Myhre]

Well, you can really boil it down to two basic responses. Response number one is that nothing substantive will come out of this summit. They think Putin is still fully committed to the war and won't agree to a real ceasefire, let alone an end to the conflict. So they expect the fighting to continue. Ukrainians who think this way include Olena Humeinuk. She's 46 and works in construction. I spoke with her in central Kyiv So she's saying that she thinks it's another waste of time that will produce no results. And then she goes on to say she thinks negotiations are possible, but they have to include Ukraine. And I'll just add, Michelle, Russia fired nearly 100 drones at Ukraine overnight. Six civilians were killed, more than a dozen injured, according to Ukrainian officials.

[Michelle Martin]

Okay, so a lot of people you spoke with don't think this will go anywhere. What else are you hearing?

[Greg Myhre]

Well, there are some Ukrainians who fear that Putin and Trump might reach some sort of arrangement and then Ukraine will face pressure to accept it. Even though Ukraine isn't present at the talks, Ukrainians don't know exactly what that might be. This summit has been cobbled together very quickly. The leaders aren't working off a clear and specific agenda. Trump says he just wants to hear Putin out and then decide what to do next. So the concern is Putin will make some very limited proposal, a partial temporary ceasefire. Our colleague Charles Mainz just described one possibility that might sound like a nice gesture, but wouldn't address the core issues that could end the war.

[Michelle Martin]

Have Ukrainians been able to do anything to prepare for this kind of outcome?

[Greg Myhre]

So President Volodymyr Zelensky has been in Europe rallying support for Ukraine. European leaders are staunchly backing Zelenskyy, saying no deals can be reached without Ukraine's full participation. Zelenskyy and the have been talking to Trump by phone in the past week or so. So they've been able to make their case and they've tried to warn him against what Putin might try to do. Also, Trump says he would like to see a follow up meeting that would include Zelensky. So whatever comes out of Alaska, Ukraine hopes it will have a chance to lobby afterwards before any decisions might get made.

[Michelle Martin]

Greg, before we let you go, Russia launched its full scale invasion 3 1/2 years ago. Are you seeing any change in opinion in Ukraine as this war drags on?

[Greg Myhre]

Yeah, Michelle, we've seen two interesting polls this month. A Gallup poll asked Ukrainians if they now favored and negotiated into the war. Right around 70% said yes, they would. But a poll by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology asked Ukrainians if they would accept giving up territory that Russia now holds. 76% said no, this is not acceptable. And Michel, this may sound contradictory, but it does make sense. When you speak to Ukrainians, they tell you they are exhausted by the war and the longer it goes on, the more willing they are to negotiate and perhaps make concessions. But most have not reached the point where they're ready to give up the roughly 20% of their territory that Russia controls.

[Michelle Martin]

That is. NPR's Greg Myhre in Kyiv, Ukraine's capital. Greg, thank you.

[Greg Myhre]

Sure thing, Michelle.

[Tamara Keith]

And that's up first for Friday, August 15th. I'm Imi Martinez.

[Michelle Martin]

And I'm Michelle Martin. This Sunday on Up first, imagine being stuck in a troubled relationship. I mean, really stuck. As in there's no escape.

[Tamara Keith]

Their legs are like stuck together.

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And from this point on, things get weird.

[Greg Myhre]

Legs stuck together is just a little toe dip for what happens with the rest of this film.

[Michelle Martin]

Dave Franco and Alison Brie talk about their new horror film together. It explores codependency in a horrific way as a couple become literally attached to each other. Listen to the Sunday story right here in the up first podcast.

[Tamara Keith]

Today's episode of up first was edited by Roberto Rampton, Ryland Barton, Olivia Hampton and Adam Bearne. It was produced by Ziad Buch, Nia Dumas and Christopher Thomas. We get engineering support from Stacey Abbott. Our technical director is Carly Strange and our executive producer is Jay Shaylor. Join us again on Monday.

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