Steve Witkoff says Vladimir Putin agreed at his summit with Donald Trump to allow the U.S. and European allies to offer Ukraine a security guarantee resembling NATO’s collective defense mandate.

Russia already controls a fifth of Ukraine, including about three-quarters of Donetsk province, which it first entered in 2014.

The Alaska summit between the U.S. and Russian leaders showcased their mutual animosity for the former president.

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

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,

Mike Pence calls for Donald Trump to demand secondary sanctions on Russia after Alaska summit shifts focus from Ukraine ceasefire to broader peace deal.

President Donald Trump walked into a summit with Russia’s Vladimir Putin pressing for a ceasefire deal and threatening “severe consequences” and tough new sanctions if the Kremlin leader failed to agree to halt the fighting in Ukraine.

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.