The Take

The Take: Why is Trump meeting Putin in Alaska?

Trump and Putin will meet one-on-one Friday at a historic summit in Alaska. What’s on the table?

Russian President Vladimir Putin meets with top officials ahead of the Russia-US summit in Alaska, at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, August 14, 2025 [Vyacheslav Prokofyev/Sputnik/Pool via Reuters]

What does the Alaska summit hold for Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin? The two presidents will meet Friday, while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is not invited. As Russia is gaining ground in Ukraine, what could a deal look like, and who will pay the price?

In this episode:

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Osama Bin Javaid (@osamabinjavaid), Al Jazeera Correspondent

Episode credits:

This episode was produced by Diana Ferrero, Amy Walters, Sonia Bhagat, and Noor Wazwaz, with Phillip Lanos, Spencer Cline, Melanie Marich, Chloe K. Li, Julia Muldavin, Farhan Rafid, Kisaa Zehra, and our host, Malika Bilal. It was edited by Sarí el-Khalili.

Our sound designer is Alex Roldan. Our video editors are Hisham Abu Salah and Mohannad al-Melhem. Alexandra Locke is The Take’s executive producer. Ney Alvarez is Al Jazeera’s head of audio.