US President Donald Trump has pivoted his approach to ending the Ukraine war, moving from calls for an immediate ceasefire to pushing for a comprehensive peace agreement. The shift follows a three-hour summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin at an Alaska air base on Friday, which ended without a breakthrough.
Despite failing to secure a ceasefire, Trump struck an optimistic tone, calling the meeting “a great and very successful day in Alaska!” on his Truth Social platform. He revealed that European leaders, including UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, and European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen, had expressed support for a new summit involving Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Zelensky, who was not invited to the Alaska talks, is set to meet Trump in Washington on Monday. Trump suggested that a three-way summit with Putin and Zelensky could follow, insisting that “millions of lives” could be saved by reaching a final peace settlement rather than a fragile ceasefire.
Putin, who has long argued that only a full peace deal can resolve the conflict he launched in February 2022, reiterated the need to address the “root causes” of the war. Analysts, however, suggested Trump may have softened his stance in the face of Putin’s intransigence. Daniel Fried, a former US ambassador to Poland, noted that Trump appeared to “back away again” when confronted with Putin’s firm position.
European leaders, initially wary of the Alaska meeting, later aligned with Washington’s call for peace but stressed continued pressure on Moscow. In a joint statement, they pledged to intensify sanctions and economic measures “until there is a just and lasting peace.”
Meanwhile, the war rages on. Ukraine reported 85 Russian drone strikes and a ballistic missile attack overnight, while Moscow claimed new territorial gains in Donetsk and Dnipropetrovsk regions.
Though Trump and Putin spoke warmly of progress, concrete details were absent. “We’re not there yet, but we’ve made progress,” Trump said, while Putin hinted at hosting a follow-up summit, smiling: “Next time in Moscow.”
