WASHINGTON/ANCHORAGE, AUG 16: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will travel to Washington, D.C., on Monday to meet with U.S. President Donald Trump, following Trump’s high-profile summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska that ended without an agreement on Ukraine.
The much-anticipated Alaska meeting, billed as a potential turning point in the two-year-old conflict, produced no ceasefire deal. Trump, however, remained upbeat, insisting that “progress was made” and reiterating his belief that the best path forward was a “direct peace agreement” rather than a temporary ceasefire, which he argued “often times do not hold up.”
Putin, for his part, emphasized that Russia was “sincerely interested” in ending the war but refrained from offering any new commitments or concessions. Analysts noted that the Russian leader appeared to gain much from the summit without making visible compromises.
Following the talks, Trump held what he described as a “long and substantive” phone call with Zelensky, joined by several NATO leaders. The conversation reportedly focused on coordinating positions ahead of the Ukrainian president’s visit to Washington.
In Kyiv, officials expressed relief that no deal was struck in Alaska without Ukraine’s direct involvement. Writing in his analysis, BBC’s Vitaliy Shevchenko noted that there is a “sense of reassurance in Ukraine that its fate was not decided over its head.”
For now, the conflict grinds on as international diplomacy continues. The Washington meeting between Trump and Zelensky is expected to shed more light on whether the U.S. is prepared to press Russia further or pursue Trump’s vision of a rapid peace accord.
