Answer to Question
The Trump-Putin Meeting in Alaska
(Translated)

Question:

US President Trump and Russian President Putin held a meeting in Alaska on 16/8/2025. Did they reach an agreement on key issues? What was the impact of this meeting on relations between the two countries? on Ukraine? And internationally on Europe and China?

Answer:

To clarify the answers to the above questions, we review the following points:

1- The relationship between America and Russia has evolved over the past three decades from a relationship between two superpowers controlling the fate of the world before the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, to Russia's withdrawal from the international arena and its withdrawal into itself, with America monitoring the depth of Russia's collapse and its attempts to seize Soviet-era areas of influence. Then, to Russian President Putin's attempts to restore Russia as a major power with international standing, and America's rejection of this. In an indication of the depth of the conflict between the two countries' goals, the war broke out in Ukraine in 2022, through which Russia sought to raise its international standing by force, and America sought, through its support for Ukraine, to remove Russia from the list of major powers. This situation remained the case until the end of the Biden administration. When Trump again became president of the United States, he began to redirect the American compass against China, and announced his desire to ease tensions with Russia. He said he was capable of ending the war in Ukraine within 24 hours, and that this war was not his war, but Biden's war. Thus, under Trump, America began to shift its relations with Russia. This became apparent from President Trump's repeated insults of Ukrainian President Zelenskyy, his harsh criticism of US military support for Ukraine, and his demand that European countries assume their financial and military responsibilities in Ukraine.

2- The Ukrainian war has weakened Russia's international standing. Its army has proven unable to achieve quick, high-value objectives in Ukraine. Nearly half of its naval fleet was destroyed in the Black Sea, its strategic bases deep inside Russia were struck, and it has lost important elements of its ground forces, including equipment and generals. However, it has not been defeated and has remained capable of making progress inside Ukraine, even if described as the crawling of ants. However, Russia, which has found itself facing NATO's military capabilities, as if it were at war with NATO countries, has shown frustration, sometimes making nuclear statements and preparations. This is extremely dangerous and is not what America wants. In other words, the Ukrainian war has highlighted the risks of escalation to a nuclear war. The war in Ukraine has prompted Russian President Putin to strengthen his strategic partnership with China. Although this trend was expected from America, and despite China not responding to Russia with the same warmth, lest it lose its essential trade relations with America and Europe, the re-division of the world into what resembles two camps is the last thing America wants. It absolutely does not want China's economic power to complement Russia's military power in one camp.

3- Russia's fear of the strategic defeat that America is planning in Ukraine has motivated it to increase its missile and nuclear armament. Nuclear agreements with the United States are at a minimum following America's withdrawal in 2019 from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty. In addition to Russia's introduction of hypersonic missiles into its war in Ukraine, it also introduced the highly destructive Oreshnik missile in 2024. Finally, shortly before Putin's meeting with Trump, Russia announced tests that America was aware of Russian preparations for them, of nuclear missiles with nuclear engines too, meaning unlimited range and speed. In addition to the danger it poses to America and the fact that it would eliminate its much-vaunted missile shield, which it has spent billions on, it also confirms to America that Russia is pursuing a new strategic military race, regardless of the cost to its economy. This requires America to reach an agreement with Russia to halt its advance and avoid a military race similar to the Cold War.

4- Russia faced a possible military defeat in Ukraine. Its military image as a superpower was shattered and it was unable to defeat the Ukrainian army. The war was a back-and-forth, meaning that Russia lost its decisive advantage, which harmed its international standing. In addition to its apparent military weakness in Ukraine, it fell under a deep package of Western sanctions that almost brought it to the brink of exiting the global economy and imposed significant international isolation on it. The Russian president was unable to even freely move outside the country due to the arrest warrants issued by the International Criminal Court. Therefore, Russia deployed all its economic and military capabilities to ward off the specter of strategic defeat in the Ukrainian war. Its economy became a war economy. It believed that its international standing was determined by the war in Ukraine. However, the specter of defeat did not leave it, and its greatest fear was that matters would escalate towards NATO intervention and a direct confrontation with it. It is not capable of doing so unless it employs its nuclear tools, but employing these tools is dangerous and extremely dangerous. When US President Trump came and began praising Russia and praising its president, Russia breathed a sigh of relief, as this represented a US shift away from its plans for a strategic defeat of Russia. Russia may have considered accepting Trump's offers as they are to limit its depletion, but it is watching the door Trump has opened for its return to the international arena, and it is on edge fearing it might close when it wants to enter it.

5- When America witnessed Russia's hesitation and refusal to stop the war, and voices rose in the West that Putin was exploiting Trump's recent approach and desire to stop the war in Ukraine, the American president announced a 50-day deadline for Russia to stop the war in Ukraine. Despite Russia's deep annoyance with this deadline and its request for clarifications, it continued to procrastinate within this deadline, wanting to exploit it to the end. This prompted the American president to threaten to take a U-turn, that is, to close the door and return to the positions of the Biden administration. He announced that this period would be shortened to only 10 days, which Russia saw, through the Deputy National Security Advisor and former President Medvedev, as a step towards war. Medvedev reminded America of Russia's "doomsday nuclear hand", and the American president exchanged words with him, who urged him to be careful that he was entering an extremely dangerous area. With this American threat to take a U-turn and return to supporting Ukraine and imposing harsher sanctions on Russia, including all those who buy oil from it, namely China in particular, the clock struck in Moscow that a decision had to be made.

6- Russia thus felt it must quickly make concessions to America. It does not want a return to the momentum of American support for Ukraine, which would impose further strain on it and waste the opportunity offered by President Trump to break its international isolation. Furthermore, Russia has doubts about China. If China were given the choice between benefiting from cheap Russian oil and its trade relations with America, it would certainly choose the latter, given its many benefits. Moreover, Trump's peace offer provides Russia with what it desires from an agreement with America alone, similar to the Yalta Conference in 1945. It does not want to involve other European or Ukrainian parties, but rather wants an agreement with America that would then be presented to the other parties as a fait accompli. Thus, Russia took the initiative to request a meeting with US President Trump's envoy, Witkoff, to eliminate the idea of a deadline granted to Russia. This certainly requires it to give up some of its demands. On the eve of the summit between the two presidents and during the short preparation period, both parties showed signs of their desire for this meeting, and Trump actually responded to Russia's request to send his special envoy, Witkoff, to Moscow. Trump spoke about opportunities and the exchange of lands and borders between Russia and Ukraine, and Russia spoke about America's sincerity: “Putin said that Moscow is working to create conditions for peace, and that the United States is “making sincere efforts” to resolve the situation regarding Ukraine. Putin stressed the importance of reaching agreements with Washington on limiting strategic offensive weapons.” (Al Jazeera Net, 14/8/2025). Russia agreed to the summit being held in Alaska, i.e., in America, to appease Trump: “Trump believes that Russian President Vladimir Putin's decision to travel to Alaska to meet with him is "an act of great respect." (RT, 12/8/2025)

7- But from another angle, America, having witnessed Russia's procrastination for months after Trump came to the White House, did not want this summit to be without concessions from Russia. Trump said that this summit was "exploratory," and that he would know from the first minutes of the summit whether Putin was serious about ending the war in Ukraine or not. He warned of the summit's failure, setting a 25% chance of its failure, and threatened Russia with dire consequences: (US President Donald Trump threatened his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on Wednesday with "severe consequences" if he obstructed efforts to achieve peace in Ukraine, threatening the possibility of imposing economic sanctions if their meeting scheduled for Friday in Alaska failed to achieve tangible results. Trump explained that the meeting with Putin would be "preparatory" for a second meeting that would include Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, indicating that its holding depends on the outcome of the Alaska meeting. (Arab 48, 14/8/2025)

US President Donald Trump then described his summit with Vladimir Putin as "high-stakes" before heading to Anchorage, Alaska, to hold the first of their meeting since seven years ago. Trump expressed his desire to see a ceasefire "very quickly." (Independent Arabia, 15/8/2025). Trump said he would rush back from Alaska to Washington if Putin wasn't serious. (US President Donald Trump arrived at Elmendorf Air Force Base in Anchorage, Alaska, on Friday. Trump said that if the summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin goes badly, he will leave. (CNN Arabic, 15/8/2025)). This statement about leaving the meeting carries a kind of insult to President Putin, who came to meet Trump in America!

8- All these statements put pressure on Russia to make concessions, as he threatens it with dire consequences, sanctions, and withdrawal from the meeting. This means that the meeting between them was disproportionate as were the important meetings between Soviet and American leaders in the past. It is not a meeting of two giants, and does not even rise to the level of US-China summit meetings. It reinforces America's arrogance and its demand for Russia's submission, as well as the decline of the status of the new Russia, which accepted all these American conditions, deadlines, and threats. Its president traveled to America to hold the meeting with Trump instead of it being held in a third country. Perhaps the action contradicting protocols is Russian President Putin accepting the US president's offer to ride with him in his private car, despite the presence of Putin's car that accompanies him in all his international meetings, is evidence of Russia's submission and its need for a warm relationship with Trump to reduce its strategic losses. What confirms this is that despite the major rupture in US-Russian relations imposed by the Biden administration, the Russian president was keen to entice Trump. Yuri Ushakov, the Russian president's assistant, said: “Cooperation between Russia and the United States has enormous untapped potential. He noted that the Russian delegation will include Presidential Aide Yuri Ushakov, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, Finance Minister Anton Siluanov, and Chairman of the Russian Direct Investment Fund Kirill Dmitriev.” (RT, 14/8/2025). This is an indicator of Russia's weakness that America is sure to pick up on. Perhaps Russian President Putin's statements after the meeting indicate this weakness and the depth of Russian concern about the continued tension in relations between the two countries. The Russian president began his speech at the press conference by acknowledging the deterioration of US-Russian relations in recent years. He said, “As is known, Russian-American summits have not been held for more than four years. This is a long time. The past period was very difficult for bilateral relations. And, let's be honest, they have slid to the lowest point since the Cold War. And this is not good for our countries, or the world as a whole.” He added: “Obviously, sooner or later, it was necessary to correct the situation, to move from confrontation to dialogue. And in this regard, a personal meeting of the heads of the two states was really overdue.” Putin said: “The negotiations were held in an atmosphere of respect, constructiveness, and mutual respect and were very comprehensive and useful.” (Reuters, CNN Arabic, 16/8/2025)

9- In conclusion, by carefully examining the course of the meeting between Trump and Putin and the media coverage, it can be said that the following matters were covered in their meeting:

a- Ukraine: This is the most prominent, though not the only, issue, but it is the most famous and heated. Despite the firmness of Russia's security demands, namely, that Ukraine be excluded from NATO and that it not possess a strong army that threatens Russia, a clear agreement was outlined at the summit. One aspect of this agreement was Russia's future pledge not to attack Ukraine: (Putin emphasized that he agrees with the need to guarantee Ukraine's security, saying: “I…agree with President Trump, as he has said today, that naturally, the security of Ukraine should be ensured as well. Naturally, we are prepared to work on that.” He added: “I would like to hope that the agreement that we've reached together will help us bring closer that goal and will pave the path towards peace in Ukraine.” (CBS, CNN Arabic, 16/8/2025)). What also confirms the existence of an agreement is that the US President gave his meeting with Putin a score of 10 out of 10. (Sky News, 16/8/2025). America is cooling the war zone in Ukraine in preparation for a ceasefire. This requires an American pledge to gradually slow down American and Western military support for the Ukrainian army, then declare a ceasefire, which may come through a subsequent summit between the two presidents and Ukrainian President Zelenskyy within weeks. Then proceed with the solution in Ukraine slowly, perhaps over the course of years. In other words, America is postponing the final solution and wants a quick ceasefire. The final solution must be over many years, during which America will force Ukraine to concede territory and borders equal to the concessions Russia will make to America on other issues. This is as if it is making Russia salivate by its recognition of the limits of Russian control in Ukraine, with conditions that Russia must fulfil and please America.

b- Re-normalizing US-Russian relations: Although this process began with the Istanbul meeting in April 2025, it is expected to gain momentum, and this momentum will likely become apparent after the second meeting between the two countries, which Ukraine may join with the aim of declaring a ceasefire. Normalizing relations is considered an urgent necessity for America to open negotiations in other strategic files.

c- The Arms Race and Strategic Power: It is highly likely, given both parties' need for it, that negotiations on arms control and strategic nuclear and missile power will be urgently opened. Russia is likely to agree today to America's previous condition that China joins these negotiations, making them trilateral. This is because previous Russian-American agreements were a continuation of decades-old agreements between the two military giants, which America severed because it wanted to include the Chinese giant in its ranks. Especially since China is currently implementing nuclear weapons programs that will soon place it among the ranks of the two giants. Its nuclear program is expected to lead to its possession of approximately 1,000 nuclear warheads by 2030, meaning that it has surpassed intermediate nuclear powers such as Britain and France for years. Therefore, it is likely that all reasons for Russia's embarrassment regarding inviting China to participate in the Russian-American negotiations on strategic weapons have been removed. This represents a step for America on its path to dismantling the Russian-Chinese alliance. For all of this, it is likely that America’s hope to dismantle Russia's alliance with China is a big possibility, but without directly striking it and hurting Russia's feelings. Rather, it will take steps to reach a rapprochement with Russia to gradually weaken the Russian-Chinese alliance.

10- Finally, it is painful that the kaffir countries control the world, and their leaders meet, discuss, and plan. Yet the Ummah of Islam is the best Ummah that was brought forth for mankind is sitting and has no impact on international events. Indeed, it is not even capable of independent control over its own affairs, but rather is managed by the kaffir colonialists!

The problem is that this Ummah, which numbers nearly two billion, is a body without a head. The Khilafah (Caliphate) State that unites it is not established, and the Caliph who oversees its affairs, who is fought from behind and is protected by him, is absent! Nevertheless, the Khilafah will return, Allah willing, by the promise of Allah (swt) and the glad tidings of His Messenger (saw). However, Allah's law requires that angels not descend from heaven to establish the Khilafah for us while the Ummah is sitting and does not work to establish it. Rather, Allah sends angels to help us while we work. Hizb ut Tahrir, the pioneer that does not lie to its people, calls on the Ummah to work with it to establish it (the Khilafah). Then Islam and Muslims will be honoured, and kufr (disbelief) and the kuffar (disbelievers) will be humiliated.

[وَيَوْمَئِذٍ يَفْرَحُ الْمُؤْمِنُونَ * بِنَصْرِ اللَّهِ يَنْصُرُ مَنْ يَشَاءُ وَهُوَ الْعَزِيزُ الرَّحِيمُ]

“And on that day the believers will rejoice * at the victory willed by Allah. He gives victory to whoever He wills. For He is the Almighty, Most Merciful” [Ar-Rum: 4-5]

25 Safar 1447 AH
19 August 2025 CE