Key takeaways from Alaska summit from Sky News correspondents

Published

2 months ago

August 17, 2025

admin

All eyes were on Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin as they met for the first time in more than six years, the Russian president visiting the US for high-stakes talks anticipated beforehand to potentially shape the war in Ukraine.

The two leaders greeted each other with a handshake after stepping off their planes at the Elmendorf-Richardson military base in Anchorage, Alaska – and a smiling Trump even applauded Putin as he approached him on a red carpet that had been laid out.

Trump-Putin summit – latest updates

Following the talks, both leaders described the summit as productive but said no deal had been reached – and the word ceasefire was not mentioned by either.

They did not take questions from reporters – leaving perhaps even more than before the talks started.

Here is the view from our correspondents on what the summit means for Ukraine, Putin and Trump.

‘The first question: what’s the most significant stumbling block?’

Had they mentioned a ceasefire today, it would have changed the nature of the discussion, says US correspondent James Matthews. We appear to be well short of that, I think.

Putin’s statement about the fundamental causes – to make this settlement lasting and long term, we need to eliminate the primary cause to consider all legitimate concerns of Russia. That’s been Russia’s starting point and it’s been the sticking point throughout this whole process.

For Putin to stand on that stage alongside Trump and have the confidence to articulate that tells me that that resonates with Trump, and Putin is welded to that as an ongoing position – a position which is unacceptable to Ukraine.

In terms of Trump, he was talking up the meeting, called it very productive. We haven’t quite got there, he said. There’s no deal until there’s a deal.

He spoke about how he was going to call NATO, Zelenskyy, and it was an extremely productive meeting, he said – accentuating the positive, but in there was the negative. He said there are many points that we agree to, but many points yet to be agreed – some not significant, one most significant.

Of course, the first question would have been, had they taken questions, well what’s the most significant stumbling block? And what are you going to do about it? Are you with him on that? And if you’re not, what are the consequences

So frankly, if both those men, both big beasts in this conflict, the two individuals most influential, if they are both welded to Russia’s headline ask, what Russia has wanted all along throughout this, then I have to say there will be pessimism around the prospect of taking this any further.

I’m not quite sure what the reaction is that Trump expects in Ukraine and in European capitals, but it might be a very difficult phone call. Elsewhere in that discussion or these two separate statements, we got a sense, I thought, of Putin the player, how he has succeeded in reeling in Donald Trump and engaging with him as an old friend – that’s how it very much appeared, the old friend that he’s invited back to Moscow.

‘A dictator riding alongside the most powerful man in the world’

Donald Trump landed at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson with the aspiration of departing a few hours later hailed as a peacemaker and a deal broker, says US correspondent Martha Kelner.

Instead he goes back to Washington having let an international pariah back in from the cold and seemingly received precious little in return.

If Putin pitched up on the tarmac of many of the world’s airports, he could, in theory, be immediately handcuffed. This, after all, is a man wanted by the International Criminal Court for alleged war crimes, including for the alleged abduction of Ukrainian children.

Instead, the red carpet was, quite literally, rolled out for him in Anchorage. A flypast was arranged, featuring F-35 fighter jets, the very planes that are regularly scrambled to intercept Russian aircraft operating off the coast of Alaska. Various military members lined up to salute him.

Then came the most surprising moment of all. Alongside Trump, Putin climbed in the Beast, the US president’s heavily armoured limousine. A dictator, who invaded a sovereign nation three-and-a-half years ago and has been in isolation ever since, riding alongside the most powerful man in the world on a US military base.

No wonder he was grinning in the back seat.

Read Martha’s full analysis here.

‘Putin spoke as if he was the host’

“It was one of the most unusual press conferences, that I’ve attended,” says Moscow correspondent Ivor Bennett, who travelled with the Russian delegation to Alaska. “And that says something because I’ve been to all of Vladimir Putin’s recent ones. And those are very unusual.

“First and foremost, they said they agreed on many points, but we don’t know what those are. We were told it would be a joint press conference, but it wasn’t. There were no questions. That must be the first and only time that Donald Trump has not taken any questions from the press. And that’s probably because Vladimir Putin made that a condition – he often does at press conferences.

“Donald Trump has said first he has to take what has been agreed to the Ukrainians, to NATO, to get sign off. But I thought what was really interesting was the fact that Vladimir Putin was the first person to speak at the press conference. It was as if he was the host rather than Donald Trump.

“And he said that he welcomed Donald Trump like a neighbour again, kind of cementing this idea that he was the one in charge here, he was the one calling the shots. And even though the banner behind him, the slogan, said ‘Pursuing Peace’, it felt like he was pursuing something else here. He was pursuing better bilateral relations with the United States, because that’s the first thing he talked about.

“He talked up the common shared history between these two countries. He talked about the need to repair bilateral relations because they’ve plunged to their lowest point since the Cold War. And there was lots of flattery for Donald Trump’s efforts to find peace.

“But we still don’t know what has been agreed here. Putin said the root causes of the conflict still need to be resolved. That suggests that all of Russia’s red lines still remain, that it doesn’t want NATO to expand any further east. It wants Ukraine to agree to permanent neutrality, wants limits on its armed forces. It basically sees Ukraine as a buffer state in between Russia and NATO. And that term ‘root cause’ suggests all of those demands still stand.

“So it doesn’t look like Vladimir Putin has made any concessions, despite Donald Trump claiming that many points have been agreed upon over there.”

‘Red carpet treatment sticks in the craw for Ukrainians’

Our international affairs editor Dominic Waghorn, in Kyiv, gauged the Ukrainian reaction to Putin’s arrival – and says people are furious at the red carpet welcome extended by the Trump team.

Images of US soldiers on their knees, unfurling the red carpet at the steps of the Russian leader’s plane, have been going viral, he reports.

Social media has been lit up with fury, anger, and disgust, he says. There are different ways of welcoming a world leader to this type of event, and Trump has gone all out to give a huge welcome to Putin, which is sticking in the craw of Ukrainians.

US

US interest rates cut as concerns over Trump tariff inflation ease

Published

37 mins ago

October 29, 2025

admin

US interest rates cut as concerns over Trump tariff inflation ease

The US central bank has cut interest rates for the second time this year in a move consistently sought by President Trump.

Rates were brought down by a quarter of a percentage point to 3.75%-4%. Unlike the UK, the US interest rate is a range to guide lenders rather than a single percentage.

The Federal Reserve, known as the Fed, has opted for the cut despite the absence of economic announcements due to the government shutdown.

Latest employment figures were not published, as all non-essential functions of government are frozen over the inability of Republican and Democratic legislators to agree on a spending package.

The absence of these figures makes it trickier for the Fed to assess the state of the economy and meet its dual mandate to keep inflation steady and maintain maximum employment.

Data on price rises, however, showed inflation hit 3% in September, one percentage point above the Fed’s 2% target but lower than anticipated by economists.

The fact that concerns over spiralling inflation, fuelled by Mr Trump’s tariff-induced trade war, have not materialised, has facilitated the cut.

Interest rates had been held amid warnings from Fed chair Jerome Powell that the US economy would grow less and goods would become more expensive due to hiked taxes on imports and the associated disruption in supply.

Mr Powell and the Fed in general have, as a result, been the subject of Mr Trump’s ire. The president sparked a crisis over the Fed’s independence when he moved to remove rate-setter Lisa Cook from her post at the Federal Reserve on alleged mortgage fraud grounds, which she denied.

Before the first interest rate drop of his term, in September, Mr Trump had threatened to remove Mr Powell, calling him a “stupid person” and saying he “should be ashamed”. The animosity comes despite Mr Trump appointing Mr Powell during his first presidential term.

What next?

The prospect of an interest rate cut was one of the factors boosting US and European stock markets in the days running up to the vote, with major stock indexes reaching record highs. Further increases are likely to be seen due to the decision.

US

‘Close eye’ will be kept on OpenAI’s for-profit conversion, says California’s attorney general

Published

12 hours ago

October 29, 2025

admin

'Close eye' will be kept on OpenAI's for-profit conversion, says California's attorney general

OpenAI has completed its transition to a for-profit company, after court battles and public criticism from one of its founders, Elon Musk.

The company’s for-profit arm will become a public benefit corporation – a company type that must consider both the mission and shareholder interests.

But the non-profit arm will retain control over it to make sure OpenAI sticks to its mission of developing artificial intelligence to the “benefit of all humanity”.

The restructuring will make it easier for OpenAI to profit from its AI, which the company says will help it to realise its goal of developing artificial general intelligence (AGI).

AGI would mean AI can perform any intellectual task that a human can. It is often seen as the holy grail for AI companies.

In a call on Tuesday, OpenAI’s chief executive Sam Altman said “the most likely path” for the newly formed business is that it becomes publicly traded on the stock market, “given the capital needs that we’ll have and sort of the size of the company”.

The company also announced that Microsoft, a long-time backer of OpenAI, will now hold a roughly 27% stake in its new for-profit corporation, a slightly bigger share than OpenAI’s own nonprofit.

“We will be keeping a close eye on OpenAI to ensure ongoing adherence to its charitable mission and the protection of the safety of all Californians,” said California Attorney General Rob Bonta.

OpenAI said it completed its restructuring “after nearly a year of engaging in constructive dialogue” with the offices in both states.

“OpenAI has completed its recapitalization, simplifying its corporate structure,” said a blog post Tuesday from Bret Taylor, the chair of OpenAI’s board of directors.

“The nonprofit remains in control of the for-profit, and now has a direct path to major resources before AGI arrives.”

When OpenAI initially suggested restructuring, Mr Musk asked a judge to block this from happening.

He launched a legal case against the company in 2024, accusing it of a breach of contract.

Mr Musk accused the ChatGPT developer of transforming into “a closed-source de facto subsidiary of the largest technology company, Microsoft”, according to a court filing.

“It is not just developing but is actually refining an AGI [artificial general intelligence] to maximise profits for Microsoft, rather than for the benefit of humanity,” the court filing said.

A legal battle ensued and earlier this year, Mr Musk offered to buy OpenAI for $97.4bn (£78.7bn) – an offer that was quickly rejected by Mr Altman, who told Sky News: “The company is not for sale.”

After announcing the changes on Tuesday, Mr Altman said:

“California is my home, and I love it here, and when I talked to Attorney General Bonta two weeks ago I made clear that we were not going to do what those other companies do and threaten to leave if sued.

“We really wanted to figure this out and are really happy about where it all landed – and very much appreciate the work of the Attorney General.”

US

More than a dozen killed as US attacks alleged drug boats in Pacific ‘on Donald Trump’s orders’

Published

1 day ago

October 28, 2025

admin

More than a dozen killed as US attacks alleged drug boats in Pacific 'on Donald Trump's orders'

Fourteen people have died after the US launched its latest attacks on boats in the eastern Pacific Ocean, which it says were transporting illegal drugs to the country.

It brings the total number of dead from 13 airstrikes to 57, amid increasing tensions between the US and the governments of both Colombia and Venezuela.

A 30-second video posted on X by the US Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth, showed four vessels exploding on Monday on what he said were the orders of US President Donald Trump.

Analysis: Is Trump going to attack Venezuela?

One of the boats appears to be piled high with packages.

Mr Hegseth, who is with Mr Trump on a tour of Asia, said US forces carried out “three lethal kinetic strikes on four vessels operated by Designated Terrorist Organisations (DTO) trafficking narcotics”.

They were identified as drug boats by US intelligence, he said, travelling on “known narco-trafficking routes, and carrying narcotics”.

A total of 14 “male narco-terrorists” onboard were killed, he said, “with one survivor”, who was rescued by Mexican authorities.

Narco-terrorists “have killed more Americans than Al-Qaeda, and they will be treated the same. We will track them, we will network them, and then, we will hunt and kill them,” he added.

The condition and whereabouts of the survivor are not known.

It is the latest in a series of attacks on boats the US says have been carrying drugs in both the Pacific and Caribbean, and comes as Washington continues its military build-up in the latter, deploying guided-missile destroyers, F-35 fighter jets, a nuclear submarine and thousands of troops.

The administration has ordered the USS Gerald Ford aircraft carrier and its supporting strike group to the region, and it is expected to reach the Caribbean in the coming weeks.

Mr Trump has accused Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro of leading a drug-trafficking organisation, which he denies.

Mr Maduro has repeatedly claimed that the US wants to drive him from power, while some in Venezuela believe the military build-up is aimed at destabilising his government and ultimately forcing regime change in Caracas.

Mr Trump has also authorised the CIA to conduct covert operations in Venezuela.

The Pentagon has provided little information about any of the strikes, including the quantity of drugs the boats allegedly carried and the identities of those killed.

Democrats in Washington have asked whether the attacks comply with the laws of war, while legal experts have asked why the US Coast Guard, the main US maritime law enforcement agency, hasn’t been involved and why other efforts to stop the shipments have not been tried first.

Venezuela’s government says the strikes are illegal, amount to murder, and are acts of aggression.

In August, the Trump administration doubled its reward for information leading to Maduro’s arrest to $50 million (£38m).