One key party not be in attendance Friday at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska, was Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Trump said after his meeting with the Russian president that he would call Zelenskyy and update him on the talks.

Russian President Putin speeches during their joint press conference with U.S. Persident Donald Trump after their meeing on war in Ukraine at U.S. Air Base In Alaska on August 15, 2025, in Anchorage,

The net effect of the Alaska summit was to give President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia a free pass to continue his war against his neighbor indefinitely without further penalty, pending talks on a broader peace deal.

Both President Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin delivered brief remarks, but took no questions, in Alaska.

Russian President Vladimir Putin got everything he could have hoped for in Alaska. President Donald Trump got very little — judging by his own pre-summit metrics.

EXCLUSIVE: First Lady Melania Trump wrote a “peace letter" to Russian President Vladimir Putin telling him “it is time" to protect children and future generations around the globe, Fox News Digital has learned.

Bill Maher, host of HBO's "Real Time," reacted to the Trump-Putin summit in Alaska on Friday with his panel, calling it a "zombie lie" that President Donald Trump is a Putin ally. Panelist Walter Kirk argued that Putin looked like Trump's caddy and dismissed the idea that Trump is a Russian agent.

Trump appeared to endorse Russia's plan as the fastest way to a peace deal, abandoning the demand for a ceasefire and threats of sanctions agains Moscow, officials told the NYT.