Trump and Putin meet in Alaska with the future of the Ukraine War on the negotiating table

However, it is possible that the number of participants increases, after the meeting, the Kremlin announced that Russian Defense Minister Andriy Belousov would join the conversations in Anchorage “in an expanded format.”

The meeting is part of the initiatives that Trump has launched since his return to the presidency with a view to ending the war in Ukraine, an objective that has to date been elusive.

The president of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, was not invited to participate in the meeting, which Trump has presented as a kind of preliminary meeting to evaluate Putin's willingness to achieve peace.

In a message posted on his X account this Friday, Zelensky was skeptical about Moscow's intentions and assured that Kyiv is ready to advance in the search for the end of the conflict.

“On negotiation day, the Russians are also killing. And that says everything. Recently, we have discussed with the United States and Europe what it can really work,” he wrote.

“We all need a fair purpose of war. Ukraine is willing to work in the most productive way possible to end the war, and we have a firm position from the United States. Everything will depend on this: Russians take into account the US force. They do not make mistakes: strength,” he added.

Russia, meanwhile, has introduced other issues other than war in Ukraine and more bilateral interest for Washington and Moscow, such as agreements on nuclear weapons and the possibility of economic cooperation between the two countries.

However, before the meeting, Trump made clear his interest in achieving advances in the Ukraine conflict and said that “he will not be happy” if during the meeting with Putin there is no high fire.

This is the first face to face that Trump and Putin hold from the return of the US president to the White House. The last time they had seen in person was in June 2019, within the framework of a G20 summit in Osaka (Japan).

Russia launched a large -scale invasion against Ukraine in February 2022.

Initially, their troops made great advances, they reached the outskirts of Kyiv and conquered large portions of territory in southern Ukraine, including large extensions of the provinces of Zaporiyia and Jersón.

But Ukraine, with the support of the US and European countries, managed to present a greater resistance to the anticipated by Moscow and things have changed over time.

“The war has had ups and downs since then. Russia now controls a rather lower territory, going from about 27% in the spring of 2022 to approximately 20% today. In the east, the Russian forces are advancing, but very slowly already a great cost,” says Paul Adams, a diplomatic correspondent for the BBC.

Before the invasion of 2022, Russia had taken over in 2014 of the province of Crimea, as well as parts of Donbás, where Moscow lent supported separatist groups in the eastern regions of Donetsk and Lugansk.

In the prelude to this summit, the issue of the control of the territory of Ukraine acquired importance after Trump mentioned the possibility of carrying out territorial exchanges.

“This has caused shock in Kyiv and in Europe. It is not clear to which territory Trump refers, nor how those exchanges would be, since the entire territory in question legally belongs to Ukraine,” Adams points out.

“Russia would love to expand its control over all of Lugansk and Donetsk. But that would mean that Kyiv would renounce places where tens of thousands of Ukrainian soldiers have died trying to protect them, cities such as Kramorsk and Slávyansk, and a fortified line that protects the Ukrainian territory to the north and west,” he adds.

For both Zelensky and his European allies, it would be very difficult to accept the assignment of Ukrainian territory to Russia.

In any case, Trump clarified this week after a virtual summit with Zelensky and with European leaders who would not make decisions on this issue without Kyiv's participation.

On the other hand, it is not clear that Moscow is willing to give up any part of the territory that has conquered blood and fire, in an effort that has also cost the lives of Russian soldiers.

“For Ukraine and Europe, territorial exchanges, in this early phase of negotiations, are unfeasible. It is possible that there is finally a debate on future borders, but only when the war has ended and the security of Ukraine has been guaranteed,” says Adams.

Lyse Doucet, Chief of International Correspondents of the BBC

High risk summits are usually the result of extensive preparation. In most cases, both parties will solve many details before their leaders feel at the table.

For everything we have heard so far about this summit organized in a hurry, President Trump is practically starting from scratch. It is not clear what will come out of it, what the United States wants.

President Trump's mantra since his return to the White House has been “to stop the killing.” It is an urgent and noble goal. But there is a big difference between stopping the killing and finding a way to end war and achieve sustainable peace.

Even stopping the killing is incredibly complex. It is even more complex when sitting in front of the ex -chief of espionage and the most cunning of the negotiators, President Putin.

But both parties will want to get out of this summit saying that it has been a success.

President Trump now says he wants a fire. In recent months, President Putin has only agreed very limited truces. He has surely prepared a speech that will seem like someone collaborating with President Trump.

But there are no indications that he has diverted from his long -term objective: dominate Ukraine.

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