Experts react: Trump and Putin simply left Alaska with no deal. Here’s what meaning for Russia’s struggle on Ukraine.

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“We didn’t get there.” This was the decision US President Donald Trump delivered after a virtually three-hour assembly with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Friday. It was the primary face-to-face assembly between Russian and US heads of state for the reason that begin of Putin’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Trump had trekked to Alaska hoping to set in movement a cease-fire in Russia’s struggle. Putin obtained away with not even agreeing on a pause. Indeed, Russian forces attacked Ukraine throughout the assembly. Both presidents raised the potential of one other assembly—maybe in Moscow—however made no agency commitments. So, what’s subsequent for Ukraine and for Trump’s peace-seeking course of? Below, Atlantic Council consultants share their insights on what got here out of Alaska.

Click to leap to an professional evaluation:

John Herbst: If Putin supplied no actual concessions, then Trump’s response must be fast and complete

Leslie Shedd: Trump desires the killing to cease—and he’s put his personal political capital on the road to attempt

Daniel Fried: No deal, no cease-fire, and never a lot signal of progress

Oleh Shamshur: Putin was intransigent on crucial situation of the talks

Philippe Dickinson: Putin’s tactic is to stall and stall some extra

Edward Verona: Don’t be fooled by Putin’s speak of US-Russia enterprise prospects

Melinda Haring: Trump ought to keep in mind that the United States holds the playing cards, not Russia

Brian Whitmore: Russia’s targets stay maximalist and eliminationist

If Putin supplied no actual concessions, then Trump’s response must be fast and complete 

Putin can be returning to Moscow with a smile on his face. For the second time in two weeks, Putin achieved his tactical goal of avoiding “severe consequences” from the United States for his refusal to finish the taking pictures in Ukraine. Trump had set a tough deadline of August 8 for Putin to just accept a ceasefire. But enjoying off Putin’s assembly with Special Envoy Steve Witkoff on August 6, Trump pushed for a gathering as an alternative, and the deadline lapsed.  

In latest days, Trump promised main steps in opposition to Russia if Putin didn’t point out a willingness to make peace in Alaska. While each Putin and Trump referred to a optimistic assembly, Trump famous that they’d not “gotten there” on the massive situation—peace in Ukraine—though he added that he was optimistic they might attain that objective. It is notable that Trump mentioned he would get on the cellphone shortly with NATO leaders and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, whereas Putin hoped that these leaders wouldn’t “throw a wrench” into this nascent diplomatic course of. Putin is anticipating that the Europeans can be underwhelmed by Trump’s report and can attempt, as they did earlier than this summit assembly, to influence him to take a stronger place.   

At this level, there are few particulars on the assembly. What exactly did Putin supply that prompted Trump to talk positively of the assembly? It is probably going that some particulars will leak out after Trump briefs Zelenskyy and NATO. That will put us able to guage whether or not Putin, lastly, has supplied some steps ahead. If so, perhaps a summit with Zelenskyy could be merited. But earlier than that, Trump ought to ship a personal message to Putin to cease the bombardment of Ukrainian cities and civilians—or face new sanctions. And if it seems that Putin supplied no concessions in Anchorage, very fast and complete steps are wanted: huge sanctions on Russia and the dispatch of a significant US arms bundle, paid for by Europe, to Ukraine. 

—John E. Herbst is the senior director of the Atlantic Council’s Eurasia Center and a former US ambassador to Ukraine.

Trump desires the killing to cease—and he’s put his personal political capital on the road to attempt 

It seems the talks have been optimistic however, sadly, not conclusive. This isn’t too stunning—the White House mentioned earlier than the assembly this was a preliminary step. Trump did say in a Fox News interview after the assembly that there could be a follow-up assembly between Putin and Zelenskyy. If that occurs, it might be an extremely optimistic step ahead. Importantly, Trump sounded hopeful, which is an efficient signal.  

Trump has made it clear there can be extreme penalties if Putin walks away from the negotiations. It seems to be like he’s prepared to provide him a little bit little bit of leeway within the hopes that peace talks will transfer ahead. But if Putin tries to jerk him round and gradual roll progress, I’d anticipate these extreme penalties to kick in in a short time. 

The underlying drawback that makes this so tough is that the Biden administration slow-rolled the weapons Ukraine wanted to win for 2 and a half years. This created an ideal surroundings for Putin’s forces to entrench themselves inside Ukraine. That has given Putin a battlefield benefit—emboldening him and giving him leverage. 

Whatever comes of this, I commend Trump for his efforts. He desires peace and desires the killing to cease—and he’s prepared to place his personal political capital on the road and roll up his sleeves and check out. 

—Leslie Shedd is a nonresident fellow on the Atlantic Council’s Eurasia Center and the president of Rising Communications.

No deal, no cease-fire, and never a lot signal of progress 

It might have been worse. Trump and Putin might have made a grimy deal at Ukraine’s expense—surrendering Ukrainian land to Russia, for instance—and Trump might have tried to stress Zelenskyy into accepting it. Instead, there was no deal, no cease-fire, and never a lot signal of progress in ending Russia’s struggle in opposition to Ukraine. (During his press assertion, Trump referred vaguely to having made some progress, however until later administration readouts present extra element, skepticism is so as.) 

Trump raced to this assembly on the idea, mistaken it seems, that Putin was able to make progress in ending the struggle on Ukraine on phrases aside from Ukraine’s give up. That was based mostly on Witkoff’s August 6 assembly with Putin in Moscow. When that appeared flawed, due both to Witkoff’s misunderstanding or Putin’s deception, Trump began talking once more of placing stress on Russia. Trump even remarked to the press whereas flying to Anchorage that stress would come if there have been no progress, together with a cease-fire. But confronted with what seems to be Putin’s stonewalling, lectures on historical past, or different dodges, Trump backed away once more. 

Therefore, benefit Putin: He obtained a gathering and slipped away with out providing something aside from bromides about US-Russian friendship. Trump might reply to being stiffed by Putin. He might do what he threatened and agree, eventually, to place stress on Russia’s financial system, particularly its income from oil gross sales. There are viable choices for doing so. Trump might clarify that the United States will work with Europe to again Ukraine, together with with extra weapons. Here too, there are viable choices for doing so with out crossing Trump’s line of no direct US help—for instance, lend lease preparations. 

Trump dangers trying weak and should, and hopefully will, reply by pushing Putin to finish the struggle. In that case, Putin’s vanity might but show the Russian chief’s downfall. But that’s merely a hope. Unless proof emerges on the contrary, the Trump administration has let its benefits sit idle whereas an aggressive adversary will get away with taunting the United States. 

—Daniel Fried is the Weiser Family distinguished fellow on the Atlantic Council and a former US ambassador to Poland.

Putin was intransigent on crucial situation of the talks 

The assembly seems to be like a win for Putin. There was excessive ceremony and a heat reception (painful for Ukrainians to observe), a breaking out of diplomatic isolation, and a delaying once more of a spherical of harsher direct and secondary sanctions. There was, in different phrases, fairly a bit to promote his new “victory” to the Russian public and to a global viewers of each buddies and foes.  

As may need been anticipated, Putin was intransigent on crucial situation of the talks—Russia’s struggle in Ukraine. He was cynical and hypocritical (even talking of safety for Ukraine) in his remarks, and on the identical time not flinching from his typical justification of the struggle and his intention to hold on with aggression. The summit didn’t stop Putin from hitting scores of civilian targets in Ukraine and persevering with his summer time offensive.  

It remains to be unclear what is going to occur after the assembly.  

The reply is dependent upon understanding what the “many points of agreement” are that Trump was referring to throughout the briefing. Was it window dressing on his half, or did he and Putin actually discover widespread floor on some related points? Will we hear from Trump anytime quickly even muted criticism of Putin, or see “severe consequences” for the absence of a cease-fire deal he was yearning for?  

For the time being, Trump was ostensibly relishing in Putin’s flattery and didn’t appear to relinquish his want of coping with the Russian dictator as a valued accomplice, together with by realizing enterprise alternatives Putin talked about and revamping bilateral relations. 

—Oleh Shamshur is a nonresident senior fellow on the Atlantic Council’s Eurasia Center and a former Ukrainian ambassador to the United States.

Putin’s tactic is to stall and stall some extra 

This was the treading water summit. At least, that’s as a lot as we are able to glean from the brief press convention with no media questions, and a curtailed bilateral agenda. With little seemingly achieved, this was no person’s worst-case situation. There can be sighs of aid in Kyiv and European capitals that the dreaded Munich 1938–fashion capitulation didn’t materialize. 

For Putin, he obtained to share the stage with the president of the United States and proffer sufficient flattery and meaningless speak of respecting Ukrainian safety to stave off additional quick sanctions and financial stress. In the context, his reference to good neighborliness was a window into the limitlessness of his cynicism. The stalling and the stringing-this-out permits Putin to proceed to throw human beings into the meat grinder, and eke out extra Ukrainian territory, inch by inch. He will think about {that a} win. 

So, what subsequent for the United States and its allies? It’s an perception so blindingly apparent it hardly counts as such, however Putin will solely reply to power and stress. Now is the time for the Europeans to press on Trump that Putin is the one impediment to peace, and that Trump ought to lastly apply his “peace through strength” method to this battle: to dial up the collective navy, diplomatic, and financial stress on Russia, each immediately and not directly by way of the international locations that proceed to allow Putin’s struggle machine. Absent that, Putin will proceed to fortunately tread water within the bloody lake he has created. 

—Philippe Dickinson is a deputy director with the Transatlantic Security Initiative on the Atlantic Council’s Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security. Prior to becoming a member of the Council, he was a profession diplomat with the United Kingdom’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.

Don’t be fooled by Putin’s speak of US-Russia enterprise prospects 

Putin was eager to attain an end result from the Anchorage summit that he might forged as a victory for Russia. The optimum consequence for him would have been the acceptance by his US counterpart of Russia’s demand for territorial concessions by Ukraine. True to his coaching as a KGB operative, Putin probably calculated that he might attraction to Trump’s predilection for asserting enterprise offers by bringing alongside some key financial and enterprise figures in his entourage.  

Undoubtedly to Putin’s disappointment, and happily for Ukraine, evidently the bait failed to draw the quarry. “There’s no deal until there’s a deal,” Trump acknowledged throughout the press convention, which could have utilized as a lot to enterprise prospects as to a broader peace settlement. However, it’s exhausting to think about that, had some slapdash funding framework been introduced, any severe US firms could be tempted again to Russia. Even if US sanctions have been softened, European sanctions would stay in impact, posing authorized and monetary dangers on the earth’s largest buying and selling block. The reputational hurt of doing enterprise in a rustic committing struggle crimes could be unacceptable. Moreover, nothing has modified in Russia itself. Corruption is endemic and overseas firms could be on the mercy of a rapacious enterprise elite that may have little to worry from going after American firms as soon as evanescent goodwill from a summit assembly evaporates.

—Edward Verona is a nonresident senior fellow on the Atlantic Council’s Eurasia Center masking Russia, Ukraine, and Eastern Europe.

Trump ought to keep in mind that the United States holds the playing cards, not Russia 

There was nothing however idiot’s gold to be present in Anchorage. Good on Trump for attempting to carry peace to Ukraine, however diplomacy is gradual and boring and requires greater than performative public relations stunts held on the final minute with little planning. Let’s hope that Trump sees by way of Putin’s infinite urge for food to speak and tires of the Russian dictator’s pseudo-historical lectures. Trump can squeeze the Russians; he appears to overlook that the United States holds the playing cards, not Moscow. The most telling assertion got here from Putin, who mentioned the basis causes behind the struggle stay the identical. This signifies that Putin’s place is unchanged. To him, Ukrainians aren’t actual folks, the Ukrainian language is faux, and he’s nonetheless intent on destroying a sovereign and democratic nation that deserves US sympathy and assist. 

—Melinda Haring is nonresident senior fellow on the Atlantic Council’s Eurasia Center.

Russia’s targets stay maximalist and eliminationist

The Alaska summit didn’t change the basics of Russia’s struggle in opposition to Ukraine. Russia’s targets stay maximalist and eliminationist. This was evident in Putin’s repeated calls to deal with the “root causes” of the struggle, a euphemism for Ukraine present as a completely sovereign state freed from Russian domination. This is no surprise. Putin’s targets in Ukraine have all the time been ideological, and there may be merely no grand discount that can fulfill him shy of Ukraine’s whole capitulation, which is not going to occur. This struggle can be selected the battlefield. And the simplest technique to guarantee that it ends on the battlefield sooner slightly than later and in Ukraine’s favor is for the United States and its allies to proceed arming Ukraine. In addition, they’ll improve financial stress on Russia by way of the secondary sanctions included in laws sponsored by US senators Lindsey Graham and Richard Blumenthal. 

The solely clear winner, no less than within the brief time period, was Putin, who noticed his worldwide isolation ended. Putin didn’t get the sanctions aid he sought, and he appears to have fallen in need of decoupling Ukraine from normalizing financial relations with the United States. But he obtained the optics of a red-carpet welcome from the US president on US soil with out making a single concession.

—Brian Whitmore is a nonresident senior fellow with the Eurasia Center, an assistant professor of observe on the University of Texas-Arlington, and host of The Power Vertical Podcast.

Further studying

Related Experts:
John E. Herbst,
Leslie Shedd,
Daniel Fried,
Oleh Shamshur,
Philippe Dickinson,
Edward Verona, and
Melinda Haring

Image: US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin take a look at one another throughout a press convention following their assembly to barter an finish to the struggle in Ukraine, at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, in Anchorage, Alaska, U.S., August 15, 2025. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque

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