Ukraine says 'Spirit of Anchorage' between Trump, Putin is dead

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha declared on Sunday that any purported understanding between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin from their 2025 Alaska summit is "certainly dead now," dismissing Moscow's continued references to the so-called "Spirit of Anchorage" as illusory.

'Spirit of Anchorage' rejected

Posting on the social media platform X, Sybiha stated: "The reality makes one thing clear: if the 'Spirit of Anchorage' ever existed, it is certainly dead now." He was responding to recent statements by Russian officials who have cited supposed understandings reached during the August 2025 summit in Anchorage. The foreign minister urged Moscow to "stop believing in spirits" and engage with Kyiv's serious proposals to negotiate an end to the war.

US denies summit agreement

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio denied on Thursday that Trump and Putin had reached any binding agreement during their Alaska meeting. "There was a proposal in Alaska, but there was no agreement in Alaska. If there had been an agreement, we would have had an end to the war," Rubio said, pushing back against Moscow's characterizations of the talks. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov called Rubio's remarks "inelegant" and demanded clarification regarding Washington's role as a mediator in the conflict.

Anchorage summit aftermath

The August 2025 summit in Anchorage marked the first face-to-face meeting between Trump and Putin since the former returned to the White House earlier this year. Russian officials have repeatedly invoked the "Spirit of Anchorage" to pressure Washington on ceasefire terms, while Kyiv maintains that any negotiations excluding Ukrainian participation will fail to produce lasting peace. Lavrov's call for clarification signals ongoing friction between Moscow and Washington over the parameters of American diplomatic engagement in the nearly three-year war.