Special U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff says Russian leader Vladimir Putin agreed at his summit with President Donald Trump to allow the U.S. and European allies to offer Ukraine a security guarantee resembling NATO’s collective defense mandate as part of an eventual deal to end the 3 1/2-year war.

Donald Trump was not. When the leaders of Russia and the United States shook hands on stage after failing to reach a deal at their Alaska summit, President Trump had a look on his face that his four predecessors might have recognized after their own encounters with the former KGB agent who has defied the world in his determination to rebuild an empire.

"We are seeing accommodation more than we've seen in the past, certainly more than we saw in the last administration," Witkoff said. "And that's encouraging. Now we have to build on that."

The US president said a peace agreement would be better than a "mere" ceasefire, hours after summit with Putin that produced little.

One key party who will not be in attendance Friday at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska, is Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Trump said Thursday he hopes the summit will lead to a second meeting that would include Zelenskyy.

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,

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

After stepping off Air Force One, Trump applauded as Putin approached along a red carpet laid out for each leader.

Special U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff said Sunday that Russian leader Vladimir Putin agreed at his summit with President Donald Trump to allow the U.S. and European allies to offer Ukraine a security guarantee resembling NATO's collective defense mandate as part of an eventual deal to end the 3 1/2-year war.

In a summit meeting marked by red carpets, handshakes and military flyovers, President Vladimir Putin made his first trip to the United States in a decade and was greeted warmly by President Donald Trump.