What happened
Presidents Trump and Putin met at Joint Base Elmendorf–Richardson in Anchorage on 15 August 2025, the first United States–Russia summit since 2021, without Ukraine present. No ceasefire or document followed; the United States moved from seeking a ceasefire first to seeking a comprehensive settlement, and European leaders travelled to Washington with President Zelensky three days later to press for security guarantees. Russia's territorial requirements were reported unchanged.
The moment the United States–Russia channel became the war's primary diplomatic track, with Ukraine and Europe reacting to it rather than shaping it — the architecture the 28-point plan of November 2025 and the 2026 trilateral format inherited. Nothing in force came out of Alaska; what came out was the sequence.
Confidence: High
See this event in the timeline Interactive: select this record and follow what connects to it.