Overview

• The Alaska summit concluded without a ceasefire agreement, with both presidents describing talks as productive despite unresolved core disputes over Ukraine’s future.
• Trump signaled willingness to hold a second U.S.-Russia summit and to convene a trilateral meeting if initial talks yield progress.
• Ukrainian President Zelensky spoke by phone with Trump for about an hour on August 16 and will meet him in Washington on August 18 to align on next steps.
• European governments have urged the United States to insist on a ceasefire before any discussion of Ukrainian territory and to bar negotiations conducted without Kyiv’s direct participation.
• Russia proposed tying a ceasefire to the withdrawal of Ukrainian forces from parts of the Donbas region, a demand that Ukraine and its European partners have firmly rejected.