MOSCOW — The Kremlin says Presidents Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump will meet one-on-one in Alaska on Friday before expanding talks to their delegations. The summit starts at 11:30 a.m. local time, with a joint press conference to follow. Ukraine will top the agenda, alongside trade and U.S.–Russia cooperation.
Trump has warned of "very severe consequences" if Putin fails to make progress toward peace. On Thursday Putin gathered his top advisors and thanked the Trump administration for their "sincere efforts" to negotiate a lasting peace in Ukraine - even suggesting the two sides could reach a deal on arms control.
At a scenic river overlook just outside the Kremlin, Russians interviewed by NPR said they hoped for an end to the war — even if they disagree on how to get there.
"I just want peace," says Vladimir, a former Russian navy sailor from Saint Petersburg who declined to provide his last name to an American reporter. He says he supports Putin's view that NATO's expansion towards Russia's borders is the root of the conflict.
"Russia doesn't want NATO in its backyard," he explains. "It's like when we put missiles in Cuba during the Cold War. Both sides solved that problem — why can't they now?"
Galina Shalaikina, from Novosibirsk in Siberia, hopes the summit brings an end to the fighting — but only after Russia meets its military goals. She also said she saw no reason for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to be included in the summit.
"The leaders of two big countries are meeting," says Shalaikina. "Why should a small poor country like Ukraine dominate the discussions?"
Alexander, an opponent of the war who declined to provide his last name due to fear of government pressure, said he had "zero hope" Trump would succeed in getting Putin to stop the war.
"We'll see some political trading that could be good for the leaders," he explains, "but not for average people."
Putin has said he wants peace — but only on Moscow's terms. Those include ending Ukraine's NATO ambitions, demilitarization, and ceding land claimed by Russia. He has so far rejected Trump's calls for a ceasefire, appearing confident that the battlefield will bring him more leverage than the negotiating table.
Sergei Markov, a former Putin spokesman, argues Trump might still help deliver a deal — but warns against overestimating the breakthrough. He's watched a quarter century of American presidents repeatedly fail to swerve Putin from what Markov says is a just defense of Russian interests.
"All American presidents try to fix relations with Russia — and all end up with bad relations." It could happen to Donald Trump, too, warns Markov.
The message from Moscow: even for a norm-busting U.S. president seeking peace, there are geopolitical traditions that are hard to break.
Copyright 2025 NPR