Putin Signals Hopes of Deal in Alaska Summit with Trump

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Kremlin sends heavyweight team to U.S. despite sanctions; Putin Signals New Arms Control Talks Ahead of Alaska Summit

By TRH Global Affairs Desk

NEW DELHI, August 14, 2025 — Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday gathered his top security and foreign policy officials — including the head of the National Guard — to review battlefield developments in Ukraine and to fine-tune preparations for high-stakes Alaska summit with US President Donald Trump.

Putin told the meeting that Washington was making “rather energetic and sincere efforts” to resolve the Ukraine conflict and hinted that a new arms control agreement might emerge from the diplomatic thaw. “The conditions are forming for constructive dialogue,” he said, without disclosing details.

The Kremlin confirmed it is dispatching a heavyweight delegation to Alaska: foreign policy adviser Yuri Ushakov, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Defence Minister Andrei Belousov, Finance Minister Anton Siluanov, and Kremlin business envoy Kirill Dmitriev.

Incidentally, Dmitriev is known to be a key aide of Putin. His ties with the US envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff set the stage for negotiations between the US and Russia after Trump too charge in Washington.

The Anchorage Summit is taking place in the backdrop of Witkoff’s three-hour-long meeting with Putin in Moscow. Analysts claim that a breakthrough in the Russia-Ukraine War may be achieved in the Alaska Summit between Trump and Putin.

In a rare move, the US Treasury Department issued a special license allowing Putin and his sanctioned entourage to land in Alaska. The waiver is valid until August 20, covering the duration of the summit and immediate follow-up travel.

Speaking to reporters, Trump said, “If the first one goes okay, we’ll have a quick second one. I would like to do it almost immediately, and we’ll have a quick second meeting between President Putin and President Zelensky and myself if they’d like to have me there.”

Meanwhile, nuclear policy expert Jeffrey Lewis warned on X that Putin is reportedly preparing to test a nuclear-powered cruise missile designed to evade advanced missile defense systems, which he described as aimed at defeating the “Golden Dome” — a reference to layered missile shields.

The Alaska meeting will mark the first in-person encounter between Trump and Putin since the Kremlin leader’s trip to Geneva in 2021. With Ukraine talks, arms control, and new weapons testing all on the table, the summit is expected to set the tone for US–Russia relations in the months ahead.