President Donald Trump said on August 6, 2025, that there was a strong prospect of high-level talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin and potentially Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky after U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff held lengthy discussions with Putin in Moscow.
The comments marked a notable diplomatic opening, but at that stage no trilateral summit had been agreed and no ceasefire had been reached. The discussions were taking place as Trump increased economic pressure on Moscow and on countries continuing to buy Russian energy.
Witkoff holds three-hour talks with Putin
Witkoff met Putin for about three hours in Moscow in what Kremlin foreign-policy aide Yuri Ushakov described as a “useful and constructive†discussion. According to Reuters, Ushakov said the two sides exchanged “signals†concerning Ukraine and also discussed broader U.S.-Russian cooperation.
The Kremlin did not disclose a negotiated ceasefire formula or other concrete agreement immediately after the meeting. Trump, however, described Witkoff's talks as highly productive and said progress had been made.
“Everyone agrees this War must come to a close, and we will work towards that in the days and weeks to come,†Trump wrote on Truth Social after being briefed on the Moscow talks.
Possible meetings with Putin and Zelensky
A White House official told Reuters that Trump was open to meeting Putin as soon as the following week. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt also said Russia had expressed an interest in a meeting and that Trump was open to meeting both Putin and Zelensky.
That did not amount to confirmation of a three-way summit. On August 7, Kremlin aide Ushakov said Moscow and Washington were preparing a bilateral Trump-Putin meeting, while noting that Witkoff had raised the possibility of a meeting involving Zelensky. Ushakov said Russia had not committed to that proposed trilateral format.
Zelensky said Ukraine supported direct diplomatic efforts but insisted that Kyiv must participate in decisions concerning the future of the country. He also said European leaders had joined a call in which he and Trump discussed Witkoff's visit.
Ceasefire pressure and sanctions deadline
The diplomatic activity came shortly before a deadline Trump had set for Moscow to move toward ending the war or face additional U.S. economic measures. Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, launched in February 2022, was still ongoing, and the two sides remained far apart on central questions including territory, security guarantees and Ukraine's relationship with NATO.
Ukraine was seeking a full ceasefire before broader negotiations. Russia, meanwhile, had repeatedly set out conditions for a settlement that Kyiv rejected, including demands affecting Ukrainian territory and its future security arrangements.
Direct Russian-Ukrainian talks held in Istanbul during 2025 produced agreements on prisoner exchanges and related humanitarian matters but did not establish a comprehensive ceasefire.
Trump increases pressure on India over Russian oil
On the same day as Witkoff's meeting with Putin, Trump signed an executive order imposing an additional 25% tariff on certain imports from India because of New Delhi's continued purchase of Russian oil.
The August 6 White House executive order linked the additional tariff to India's direct or indirect imports of Russian oil. The measure was separate from any final settlement of the Ukraine conflict and illustrated the administration's attempt to use trade policy to increase economic pressure related to Russia's energy revenues.
Russia rejected U.S. threats against countries trading with Moscow, while India defended its energy purchases as being driven by national economic interests.
Fighting continued despite diplomatic contacts
The renewed diplomacy did not immediately halt military operations. Russia continued large-scale missile and drone attacks against Ukraine, while Ukraine continued strikes on Russian military, energy and oil infrastructure.
At the time, Zelensky argued that increased pressure on Moscow was making Russian officials more receptive to talks, but he warned that any apparent diplomatic movement would need to be tested against concrete Russian actions.
The fundamental negotiating gap remained substantial. Kyiv rejected recognition of Russian sovereignty over occupied Ukrainian territory and maintained that decisions about Ukraine's alliances and security arrangements belonged to Ukraine. Moscow continued to demand changes to Ukraine's military and geopolitical position as part of any long-term settlement.
What happened next
The prospect of a Trump-Putin meeting quickly became more concrete. The two presidents ultimately met at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska, on August 15, 2025. White House records confirm the meeting and subsequent joint press appearance.
The Alaska summit did not produce an immediate ceasefire. Zelensky was not present, although Trump spoke with him after the meeting. Trump then hosted Zelensky and several European leaders at the White House on August 18 for further discussions on possible security arrangements and a path toward negotiations.
The hoped-for Trump-Putin-Zelensky summit did not materialize at that stage. The war continued through 2026, alongside repeated diplomatic efforts and continuing disagreements over territory, security guarantees and the sequencing of a ceasefire and broader settlement.
By September 2026, Washington was again exploring a trilateral negotiating format involving the United States, Ukraine and Russia, according to Reuters. That later initiative underscored how the possibility raised after Witkoff's August 2025 Moscow visit remained a diplomatic objective rather than a completed breakthrough.
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