President Donald Trump defended his Alaska summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Sunday, dismissing criticism of the meeting as “fake news” while revealing he has abandoned his previous demands for an immediate ceasefire in favor of pursuing a comprehensive peace agreement to end the war in Ukraine.
Writing on his Truth Social platform Sunday night, Trump rejected suggestions that hosting Putin on American soil represented a diplomatic defeat. He stated that Putin would have preferred meeting elsewhere and characterized media coverage as deliberately distorted.
Trump indicated that critics were making it harder to end the conflict, specifically targeting Senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut, who described the Alaska meeting as a disaster on NBC’s Meet the Press. The President suggested Murphy and others like John Bolton were complicating peace efforts through their public criticism.
The summit at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage on Friday ended without achieving Trump’s stated goal of securing a ceasefire agreement. The meeting lasted approximately three hours, considerably shorter than the six to seven hours originally anticipated by the Kremlin, and concluded without the planned working lunch between broader delegations.
Following the Alaska talks, Trump announced a significant shift in strategy. He posted on Truth Social that “the best way to end the horrific war between Russia and Ukraine is to go directly to a Peace Agreement, which would end the war, and not a mere Ceasefire Agreement, which often times do not hold up.”
Putin emerged from the meeting maintaining his maximalist positions, according to sources with direct knowledge of the discussions. The Russian leader reportedly demanded Ukraine withdraw from Donetsk and Luhansk regions as a condition for ending the war, while offering to freeze the frontline in Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions where Russian forces currently occupy significant territory.
The meeting appeared to benefit Moscow’s strategic position, with Russian officials expressing satisfaction at Putin’s treatment. Former President Dmitry Medvedev noted that negotiations proved possible without preconditions, while Putin faced no new sanctions despite rejecting Trump’s ceasefire demands.
Trump’s approach shifted responsibility for achieving peace to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and European allies. In a Fox News interview, Trump indicated that resolution now depended primarily on Ukraine’s willingness to reach an agreement. This represented a notable change from his earlier threats of severe economic consequences against Russia if no deal was reached.
The President also appeared to rule out key Ukrainian objectives, stating there would be no return of Crimea and no NATO membership for Ukraine. These positions align closely with longstanding Russian demands that Ukrainian officials have consistently rejected as constitutional violations.
Security expert Andrea Kendall-Taylor from the Center for New American Security expressed concerns about Trump’s apparent alignment with Putin’s position. She warned that Trump might now apply pressure on Ukraine rather than Russia, potentially forcing an unjust agreement on Kiev.
Zelensky spoke with Trump during his flight back to Washington around 2:40 a.m. Eastern Time, with European leaders including NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte joining the conversation. The Ukrainian President emphasized that real peace must be lasting rather than merely another pause between Russian invasions.
European leaders expressed relief at Trump’s offer of security guarantees for Ukraine but described the proposal as vague with unclear implementation details. They emphasized that any peace agreement must include effective provisions for Ukraine to defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity.
Zelensky arrived at the White House on Monday for approximately one hour of bilateral discussions with Trump, followed by broader talks including European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, French President Emmanuel Macron, and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.
Following Monday’s White House meetings, Trump announced plans to arrange a direct meeting between Zelensky and Putin, followed by trilateral talks including all three leaders. The announcement came despite diplomatic sources’ concerns that Trump and Putin may have reached preliminary agreement on terms they intend to impose on Ukraine.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio indicated that both Ukraine and Russia would need to make concessions in any final agreement, suggesting territorial considerations would be part of negotiations. This position contradicts Zelensky’s repeated statements that Ukraine will not cede land to Russian occupation forces.
