Lavrov says Moscow hopes to settle Ukraine issue with Trump

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov stated that Moscow aims to resolve the Ukraine issue through direct diplomacy, likening it to conducting business "man to man." Lavrov, speaking in an interview with Russian propagandists, referred to the summit between Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump in Alaska in August 2025 as a potential avenue for ending Russia's war against Ukraine.

He claimed that the two leaders had "shaken hands" and reached "understandings" on the matter, which reportedly included Ukraine's Defense Forces withdrawing from Donbas. Lavrov criticized Ukraine and the European Union for clinging to Trump's support and reportedly abandoning the so-called understandings in Anchorage, leading to a shift in Washington's stance on the conflict.

Meanwhile, Lavrov admitted that Trump described the transfer of all of Donbas to Russian control as "difficult" after his talks with Putin. Trump and Putin met in Anchorage on August 15, 2025, their first face-to-face meeting since 2019, to discuss the war in Ukraine. The summit concluded without any formal agreement, although Trump later hinted that Ukraine might need to cede territory.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio confirmed on June 25, 2026, that no agreement was reached in Alaska and that Russia's proposal was ultimately rejected by Ukraine as unacceptable.