The seventh meeting between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin concluded with satisfactory results for both sides, according to announcements. However, many schedule changes occurred without known reasons. Initially, the Kremlin announced the meeting might last 5 to 7 hours, but it ended after about 3 hours. Trump and Putin met behind closed doors for more than two and a half hours following a grand reception for the Russian guest at the Richardson military base in Alaska. A second meeting with a wider circle was expected but did not take place. Initially, a private meeting was planned upon arrival, but the White House announced minutes before the summit that the meeting would be three-on-three, including US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and White House envoy Steve Witkoff joining Trump, against Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Putin’s advisor Yuri Ushakov.

A joint lunch was also planned but did not occur, with only a short break taken. The presidents held a joint press conference after the summit, although Trump had previously suggested he might hold a solo press conference if the summit failed, a scenario he estimated at 25%. Trump set the summit’s goal as a ceasefire in Ukraine and warned of severe consequences if Putin did not show seriousness about peace. However, he warmly welcomed the Russian leader with a red carpet and applause as Putin approached. After a friendly handshake, both entered the presidential limousine, nicknamed ‘The Beast,’ and proceeded to the meeting venue. Trump rated the meeting 10/10, describing it as very good, despite expecting a 75% chance of success before the summit, while noting important unresolved issues regarding Ukraine.

Putin stated he discussed with Trump ways to end the conflict in Ukraine ‘on a fair basis.’ He described the summit as timely and very useful, noting that such direct negotiations at this level had not occurred for a long time. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz proposed holding a trilateral summit between Trump, Putin, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Europe, suggesting the location be in Europe but not specifying a city or country.