What Trump and Putin want to achieve with their Summit in Alaska

US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin will arrive at Friday's summit in Alaska with opposing priorities as they prepare for talks on ending Russia's war in Ukraine.

Putin has been consistent in his desire to win Ukrainian territory, while Trump has made no secret of his desire to act as a peacemaker global.

But both men might also sense other opportunities, such as Putin's diplomatic rehabilitation on the world stage.

Here's a closer look at what the two leaders might want from the meeting.

Putin Seeks International Recognition... and More

The first thing Putin wants from this summit is something that's already been granted to him.

And that's recognition.

Recognition by the most powerful country in the world, the United States, that Western efforts to isolate the Kremlin leader have failed.

The fact that this high-level meeting is taking place is evidence of that, as is the joint press conference announced by the Kremlin.

The Moscow government can argue that Russia is back at the top of world politics.

“Goodbye to isolation!” chanted the Moskovsky Komsomolets tabloid earlier this week.

Putin has not only secured a US-Russia summit, but also a prime location for it. Alaska has a lot to offer the Kremlin.

First, security. At its closest point, mainland Alaska is only 90 km from Chukotka, Russia. Vladimir Putin can get there without flying over “hostile” nations.

Second, it is very far, very far, from Ukraine and Europe. This fits with the Kremlin's determination to sideline Kyiv and EU leaders and negotiate directly with the United States.

There is also historical symbolism. The fact that Tsarist Russia sold Alaska to the United States in the 19th century is being used by Moscow to justify its attempt to change borders by force in the 21st century.

“Alaska is a clear example that state borders can change and large territories can change owners,” wrote the Moskovsky Komsomolets daily.

But Putin wants more than international recognition and symbols.

He wants victory. He has insisted that Russia keep all the territory it has confiscated and occupied in four Ukrainian regions (Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhia, and Kherson) and that Kyiv withdraw from the parts of those regions that are still under Ukrainian control.

For Ukraine, this is unacceptable. "Ukrainians will not give up their lands to the occupiers," said the country's president, Volodymyr Zelensky. The Kremlin knows this. But if it enlists Trump's support for its territorial demands, Ukraine's rejection is expected to result in Trump withdrawing all support for Kyiv. Meanwhile, Russia and the United States would continue to foster their relations and develop economic cooperation. But there is another scenario. The Russian economy is under pressure. The budget deficit is widening and revenue from oil and gas exports is declining.

If economic woes are putting pressure on Putin to end the war, the Kremlin may cave.

For now, there is no sign of that, as Russian officials continue to insist that Russia has the initiative on the battlefield.

Trump seeks opportunity to claim progress toward peace

Trump promised during his 2024 presidential campaign that ending the war in Ukraine would be easy and that he could do it in a matter of days.

That promise has hampered the U.S. president's efforts to resolve the conflict as he has alternated his frustration with the Ukrainians and the Russians since his return to the White House in January.

In February, he sharply criticized Zelensky in a dramatic White House meeting and subsequently temporarily suspended military aid and intelligence sharing with the war-torn nation.

In recent months, he has been more critical of Putin's intransigence and willingness to strike civilian targets, setting a series of deadlines for new sanctions against Russians and other nations that trade with them.

Last Friday was the most recent deadline, and as with all the previous ones, Trump ended up backing down.

Now he hosts the Russian president on US soil and talks about a "land swap," something Ukraine fears could involve territorial concessions in exchange for peace.

So any discussion of what Trump wants during his talks with Putin on Friday is clouded by the president's hesitant statements and actions.

This week, Trump has made a concerted effort to lower expectations for this meeting, perhaps a tacit acknowledgment of how limited the prospects for progress are without the presence of one of the two sides in the war.

On Monday, he said the summit would be a test-run. He suggested he would know if he could reach an agreement with the Russian leader “probably within the first two minutes.”

“Maybe I’ll walk away and wish him luck, and that’s the end of it,” he added. “Maybe he’ll say this isn’t going to get resolved.”

On Tuesday, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt reinforced this message, calling the summit a “listening session.”

With Trump, it’s often best to expect the unexpected. Zelensky and European leaders spoke with him on Wednesday to make sure he didn't reach a deal with Putin that Ukraine won't, or can't, accept.

One thing has been clear virtually all year, however: Trump would welcome the opportunity to be the one to end the war.

In his inaugural address, he said he wanted his most important legacy to be as a "peacemaker." It's no secret that he yearns for the international recognition of a Nobel Peace Prize.

Trump isn't one to get bogged down in details. But if he gets the chance to claim he's made progress towards peace during the talks in Anchorage, he'll take it.

Putin, always the skillful negotiator, could find a way for Trump to do just that - on Russia's terms, of course.

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