Trump, Putin Hold ‘Productive Talks, ‘Lengthy’ Discussions on Syria

US President Donald Trump, left, and Russian President Vladimir Putin shake hand at the beginning of a meeting at the Presidential Palace in Helsinki, Finland, Monday, July 16, 2018. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)
US President Donald Trump, left, and Russian President Vladimir Putin shake hand at the beginning of a meeting at the Presidential Palace in Helsinki, Finland, Monday, July 16, 2018. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)
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Trump, Putin Hold ‘Productive Talks, ‘Lengthy’ Discussions on Syria

US President Donald Trump, left, and Russian President Vladimir Putin shake hand at the beginning of a meeting at the Presidential Palace in Helsinki, Finland, Monday, July 16, 2018. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)
US President Donald Trump, left, and Russian President Vladimir Putin shake hand at the beginning of a meeting at the Presidential Palace in Helsinki, Finland, Monday, July 16, 2018. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

US President Donald Trump met on Monday Russian President Vladimir Putin on a “very constructive” day in Helsinki during which they discussed a several wide-ranging issues, from Moscow’s meddling in US elections to the crisis in Syria and Iran’s regional threat.

“I addressed directly (the question of) Russian interference in our elections. We spent a great deal of time talking about it. Putin feels strongly about the issue and has an interesting idea,” he told reporters after one-on-one talks.

Asked if he trusted US intelligence agencies, which concluded that Russia interfered in the 2016 election, Trump said he had been told by his CIA chief that Russia was to blame, but he was not certain.

“I don’t see any reason why it would be” Russia, Trump said. “President Putin was extremely strong and powerful in his denial today.”

The Russian president, for his part, said: “I had to repeat what I’ve said before, that the Russian state has never interfered and has no intention to interfere.”

“The talks have reflected our mutual desire to improve the situation ... to restore trust,” he said, referring to global security, economic issues and ecological risks.

On global affairs, the two leaders addressed terrorism and the ISIS threat.

“We will maintain open communication between our security agencies to fight this global menace,” stressed Trump.

“We also discussed at length the crisis in Syria. Cooperation between our countries has the potential to save hundreds of thousands of lives,” he added. “(I) made clear we will not allow Iran to benefit from our successful campaign against ISIS.”

Putin said: “The task of establishing peace and reconciliation in Syria could be the first showcase example of successful joint work.”

Trump said that the national security councils of the US and Russia “will meet to follow up all on (everything we discussed) today. We have made the first steps towards a brighter future, grounded on cooperation and peace.”

“Mr. President (Putin) I want to thank you for advancing open dialogue between Russia and the United States ... for the greater good of all.

“This was a very constructive day, the few hours we spent together today. It is in the interest of both our countries to continue this conversation and we will meet again in the future,” Trump said.

Putin echoed his sentiment, saying: “Negotiations with Trump took place in an open and constructive atmosphere, I find them rather successful and useful.”

He said the meeting marked the first steps to restore “an acceptable level of trust and go back to previous level of interaction on all mutual interest issues”.

He remarked, however: “No one should trust anyone. He (Trump) is defending US interests, I am defending interests of the Russian Federation. We have matching interests, we are looking for common points.”



What to Know About the Putin-Trump Summit in Alaska

Traditional Russian wooden dolls called Matryoshka depicting Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, and US President Donald Trump are displayed for sale at a souvenir shop in Moscow, Russia, Tuesday, Aug. 12, 2025. (AP)
Traditional Russian wooden dolls called Matryoshka depicting Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, and US President Donald Trump are displayed for sale at a souvenir shop in Moscow, Russia, Tuesday, Aug. 12, 2025. (AP)
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What to Know About the Putin-Trump Summit in Alaska

Traditional Russian wooden dolls called Matryoshka depicting Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, and US President Donald Trump are displayed for sale at a souvenir shop in Moscow, Russia, Tuesday, Aug. 12, 2025. (AP)
Traditional Russian wooden dolls called Matryoshka depicting Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, and US President Donald Trump are displayed for sale at a souvenir shop in Moscow, Russia, Tuesday, Aug. 12, 2025. (AP)

The US-Russia summit in Alaska is happening where East meets West — quite literally — in a place familiar to both countries as a Cold War front line of missile defense, radar outposts and intelligence gathering.

Whether it can lead to a deal to produce peace in Ukraine more than 3 1/2 years after Moscow's invasion remains to be seen.

Here’s what to know about the meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump, the first summit in four years:

When and where is it taking place? The summit will take place Friday at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson outside Anchorage, according to a White House official who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal planning. It played a key role in the Cold War in monitoring and deterring the Soviet Union.

It's Putin’s first trip to the US since 2015 for the UN General Assembly in New York. Because the US isn't a member of the International Criminal Court, which in 2023 issued a warrant for Putin on war crimes accusations, it's under no obligation to arrest him.

Is Zelenskyy going? Both countries confirmed a meeting between only Putin and Trump, despite initial suggestions that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy might take part. The Kremlin has long pushed back against Putin meeting Zelenskyy -– at least until a peace deal is reached by both sides and is ready to be signed.

Putin said last week he wasn't against meeting Zelenskyy "but certain conditions need to be created" and were "still a long way off." That raised fears about excluding Ukraine from negotiations. Kyiv and its European allies stressed that peace cannot be achieved without Kyiv’s involvement.

Zelenskyy was in Berlin for virtual meetings Wednesday with Trump and European leaders to try to ensure Ukraine and its allies are heard before the summit.

The Ukrainian president told the group Putin "is bluffing" about his military might and the effectiveness of sanctions, and "is trying to apply pressure ... on all sectors of the Ukrainian front" to try to show that Russia is "capable of occupying all of Ukraine." In reality, sanctions are "hitting Russia’s war economy hard," Zelenskyy said.

What's Alaska's role in Russian history? It will be the first visit by a Russian leader to Alaska, even though it was part of the czarist empire until 1867, the state news agency Tass said.

Alaska was colonized by Russia starting from the 18th century until Czar Alexander II sold it to the United States in 1867 for $7.2 million. When it was found to contain vast resources, it was seen by Russians as a naïve deal that generated remorse.

After the USSR's collapse, Alaska was a subject of nostalgia and jokes for Russians. One popular song in the 1990s went: "Don’t play the fool, America ... give back our dear Alaska land."

Sam Greene of King’s College London said on X the symbolism of Alaska as the site of a summit about Ukraine was "horrendous — as though designed to demonstrate that borders can change, land can be bought and sold."

What's the agenda? Trump has appeared increasingly exasperated with Putin over Russia's refusal to halt the bombardment of Ukraine. Kyiv has agreed to a ceasefire, insisting on a truce as a first step toward peace.

Moscow presented ceasefire conditions that are nonstarters for Zelenskyy, such as withdrawing troops from the four regions Russia illegally annexed in 2022, halting mobilization efforts, or freezing Western arms deliveries. For a broader peace, Putin demands Kyiv cede the annexed regions, even though Russia doesn’t fully control them, and Crimea, renounce a bid to join NATO, limit the size of its armed forces and recognize Russian as an official language along with Ukrainian.

Zelenskyy insists any peace deals include robust security guarantees to protect Ukraine from future Russian aggression.

Putin has warned Ukraine it will face tougher conditions for peace as Russian troops forge into other regions to build what he described as a "buffer zone." Some observers suggested Russia could trade those recent gains for territory under Ukrainian control in the four annexed regions annexed by Moscow.

Zelenskyy said Saturday that "Ukrainians will not give their land to the occupier."

But Trump said Monday: "There’ll be some land swapping going on. I know that through Russia and through conversations with everybody. To the good, for the good of Ukraine. Good stuff, not bad stuff. Also, some bad stuff for both."

Zelenskyy said Tuesday that Putin wants Ukraine to withdraw from the remaining 30% of the Donetsk region it still controls as part of a ceasefire deal, a proposal the Ukrainian categorically rejected. Kyiv won't give up territory it controls, he added, saying that would be unconstitutional and would serve only as a springboard for a future Russian invasion.

He said discussions led by the US on ending the war have not addressed key Ukrainian demands, including security guarantees to prevent future Russian aggression and including Europe in negotiations.

French President Emmanuel Macron said Wednesday that Trump was "very clear" in a virtual meeting with European leaders and Zelenskyy that the US wants to achieve a ceasefire. Macron added that Trump had been clear that "territorial issues relating to Ukraine ... will only be negotiated by the Ukrainian president."

What are expectations? Trump said Wednesday there will be unspecified "very severe consequences" if Putin does not agree to stop the war after the summit.

Putin sees a meeting with Trump as a chance to cement Russia’s territorial gains, keep Ukraine out of NATO and prevent it from hosting any Western troops so Moscow can gradually pull the country back into its orbit.

He believes time is on his side as Ukrainian forces are struggling to stem Russian advances along the front amid swarms of Moscow's missiles and drones.

The meeting is a diplomatic coup for Putin, isolated since the invasion. The Kremlin sought to portray renewed US contacts as two superpowers looking to resolve various global problems, with Ukraine being just one.

Ukraine and its European allies are concerned a summit without Kyiv could allow Putin to get Trump on his side and force Ukraine into concessions.

"Any decisions that are without Ukraine are at the same time decisions against peace," Zelenskyy said. "They will not bring anything. These are dead decisions. They will never work."

European officials echoed that.

"As we work towards a sustainable and just peace, international law is clear: All temporarily occupied territories belong to Ukraine," European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said. "A sustainable peace also means that aggression cannot be rewarded."

NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said Sunday he believed Trump was "making sure that Putin is serious, and if he is not, then it will stop there."

"If he is serious, then from Friday onwards, the process will continue. Ukraine getting involved, the Europeans being involved," Rutte added.

Since last week, Putin spoke to Chinese leader Xi Jinping, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, as well as the leaders of South Africa, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Belarus and Kyrgyzstan, the Kremlin said.

That suggested Putin perhaps wanted to brief Russia’s most important allies about a potential settlement, said pro-Kremlin analyst Sergei Markov.