The Anchorage summit of August 15, 2025 put U.S.-Russian business on the table in Alaska itself. Standing beside Donald Trump at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Vladimir Putin said “Arctic cooperation is also very possible,” and Reuters later reported, citing a single source, that energy deals were briefly discussed at the meeting.
Where it stands: Alaska gas is back in the conversation. Raw Story, summarizing a New York Times report published October 23, wrote that Putin “discussed the project last month with Trump envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner,” referring to Polar LNG, a North Slope export plan whose former CEO, Joel Riddle, alleges it was financed by Russia’s Novatek. The Times also wrote that nothing it found showed the two envoys were aware of Polar LNG’s links to the Russian company. Our main report on the allegations has the full account.
Every company named rejects Riddle’s account. Polar LNG called him a “disgruntled former employee” and told the Financial Times that “Development activities are being pursued in full compliance with applicable US laws.” Novatek said any project of this size would need sign-off from Washington and Moscow, and it rejected any suggestion that its participation hinged on sanctions being lifted. Tech Wave, Polar LNG’s Abu Dhabi parent, told the FT that Novatek holds no ownership interest in it. An unnamed White House official described the proposal to the FT as “broadly and briefly mentioned.” And as Business Standard put it, “No US authority has publicly established that the alleged financing constituted a sanctions violation.”
What the Anchorage summit was, and who was in the room
Putin noted in his remarks that there had been no Russia-U.S. summit for four years. According to the official transcript, which The American Presidency Project reproduces from the Daily Compilation of Presidential Documents, the two leaders faced reporters at roughly 3:05 that afternoon, inside the base’s Arctic Warrior Events Center. In his remarks Trump thanked Secretary of State Marco Rubio, envoy Steve Witkoff, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and John Ratcliffe. The Tribune, carrying an ANI report, said neither leader took questions afterward.
Moscow signaled ahead of time that economics would be on its side of the table. Al Jazeera reported that Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said the visit would include “an exchange of views” on trade and economic cooperation, and that the delegation would include Finance Minister Anton Siluanov and Kirill Dmitriev, Putin’s investment envoy. In February 2022, Treasury had designated Dmitriev and the Russian Direct Investment Fund he runs, calling him “a known Putin ally.” His later role is covered in our profile of Kirill Dmitriev.
What the two presidents said about business
Putin devoted part of his opening statement to commerce. “Russia and the U.S. can offer each other so much in trade, digital, high-tech, and in space exploration,” he said, through an interpreter, according to the transcript. He claimed that bilateral trade had grown since the new administration took office, saying “we have a growth of 20 percent,” a figure he did not source. He closed with the hope that the day’s agreements would help “bring back businesslike and pragmatic relations between Russia and the U.S.”
Trump’s remarks were shorter and pointed to the visitors. “We also have some tremendous Russian business representatives here,” he said. He said what he called the “Russia, Russia, Russia” hoax had made it harder to deal “in terms of the business,” and added: “But we’ll have a good chance when this is over.” On the war itself he said “there’s no deal until there’s a deal.” Putin ended in English: “And next time in Moscow.”
The next day, Dmitriev said economics were among the open items. “Some of them are to be agreed and definitely it’s very important that President Trump outlines a significant economic potential of cooperation between the US and Russia,” he said, as quoted by CNN and carried by ANI.
| Who | What was said on business | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Yuri Ushakov, before | Trade and economic ties on the agenda | Al Jazeera |
| Vladimir Putin | Arctic cooperation “very possible” | Official transcript |
| Donald Trump | Russian business representatives present | Official transcript |
| Kirill Dmitriev, after | Economic points still “to be agreed” | CNN via ANI |
| Unnamed source | Energy deals “briefly discussed” | Reuters |
What Reuters reported on the energy side-talks
On August 26, 2025, Reuters reported, citing five unnamed sources, that U.S. and Russian officials had discussed several energy deals alongside the peace talks that month. The sources said the deals “were put forward as incentives” for the Kremlin to agree to peace and for Washington to ease sanctions. Among the ideas: a return by Exxon Mobil to Russia’s Sakhalin-1 project, and Russian purchases of American gear for its LNG ventures, with the sanctioned Arctic LNG 2 plant named as one example. An earlier Reuters report had raised a U.S. purchase of Russian nuclear-powered icebreakers.
Most of that discussion, according to the sources, happened during Witkoff’s Moscow trip earlier in August. The link to the summit itself rests on one person: Reuters wrote that the deals “were also briefly discussed at the Alaska summit on August 15, one source said.” Another source told the agency that the White House “really wanted to put out a headline after the Alaska summit, announcing a big investment deal.” No such deal was announced.
The White House did not confirm the deals. An official told Reuters the president’s team was still working toward a meeting to end the war and argued that negotiating the details in public would not serve the national interest. A Dmitriev spokesperson declined to comment, and Novatek did not respond. Reuters added that Putin, on the day of the summit, issued a decree opening a possible path back into Sakhalin-1 for former foreign shareholders such as Exxon, provided they work toward lifting Western sanctions.
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The sanctions question, then and now
Before the meeting, Al Jazeera’s analysis predicted that Putin would press for Western sanctions to be eased in exchange for agreeing to any peace deal. The administration’s public line afterward was that new sanctions would wait. On August 17, 2025, Rubio told CBS’s Face the Nation that “the moment the President puts those additional sanctions, that’s the end of the talks.”
That tension has not gone away. On October 16, 2026, Trump signed an order waiving the Graham Act’s Russia sanctions, weeks after Witkoff and Kushner’s September meeting with Putin, which is detailed in our report on the Witkoff-Kushner talks with Putin. No reporting reviewed for this article ties the waiver to Polar LNG, and the White House has said the Alaska idea came up only broadly.
How Alaska gas came back after the Anchorage summit
The summit produced no investment announcement, but Alaska kept resurfacing. In February 2026, a Reuters dispatch drawing on the Times said Gentry Beach, a financier with ties to Trump’s family, had signed an agreement with Novatek “last autumn to develop natural gas in Alaska.” The Reuters story reminded readers that Trump and Putin had met in Alaska the previous August. Novatek told the Times it was “indeed having negotiations on the potential use” of its technology there, without confirming it was working with Beach.
Beach’s plan and Polar LNG are not the same thing. Riddle has said Beach never put money into Polar LNG; in Business Standard’s summary of the FT, Beach “was neither a shareholder nor a director.” Novatek, for its part, says Beach was not involved when it negotiated over a stake in Polar LNG. Trump Jr.’s spokesman told the Times that Beach and Trump Jr. are not close anymore, according to Raw Story.
Then came the September 2026 envoy visit and the October reports. Every dated step, from the Anchorage meeting forward, is laid out in our Novatek-Polar LNG timeline, and every other proposal reported so far is collected in our guide to the energy deals floated in the peace talks. The summit’s own record is short: one Putin line about the Arctic, one Trump line about Russian business guests, and a Reuters source who said energy deals came up briefly.
Frequently Asked Questions
What was said about energy at the 2025 Anchorage summit?
In public, Putin said Arctic cooperation was very possible and listed trade, digital, high-tech and space as areas for joint work. Trump noted Russian business representatives were present. Reuters later reported, citing one source, that energy deals were briefly discussed at the meeting.
Was any deal signed at the Anchorage summit?
No. Trump said there was no deal until there was a deal, and no investment or energy agreement was announced. A Reuters source said the White House had wanted to announce a big investment deal afterward.
Who attended the Anchorage summit for Russia?
Al Jazeera reported that Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said the delegation would include Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, Finance Minister Anton Siluanov and investment envoy Kirill Dmitriev, whom the U.S. Treasury sanctioned in 2022.
Is the Anchorage summit connected to Polar LNG?
No source links Polar LNG to the 2025 summit itself. The New York Times has reported that Putin raised the Alaska gas idea with Witkoff and Kushner in September 2026, and that nothing showed the envoys knew Novatek was involved. Polar LNG, Novatek and Tech Wave deny Riddle’s allegations.
Sources
- Remarks to Reporters With President Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin of Russia in Anchorage, Alaska — The American Presidency Project (UC Santa Barbara), from the Daily Compilation of Presidential Documents, August 15, 2025
- Can Putin sway Trump with economic offers in Alaska? — Al Jazeera, August 15, 2025
- Trump says ‘no deal until there’s a deal’ after Alaska talks with Putin — The Tribune (ANI, quoting CNN), August 16, 2025
- US and Russian Officials Discussed Energy Deals Alongside Latest Ukraine Peace Talks — Reuters (via gCaptain), August 26, 2025
- Secretary of State Marco Rubio with Margaret Brennan of CBS Face the Nation — U.S. Department of State, August 17, 2025
- Treasury Prohibits Transactions with Central Bank of Russia and Imposes Sanctions on Key Sources of Russia’s Wealth — U.S. Department of the Treasury, February 28, 2022
- Trump ally ties up with Russia’s Novatek on natural gas in Alaska, NYT reports — Reuters (via Internazionale), February 20, 2026
- Whistleblower CEO quits over hidden Russian cash behind gas deal in Trump peace talks: NYT — Raw Story, October 24, 2026
- Former CEO: Russian Firm Backed Alaska Gas Venture — Newsmax (via Yahoo News), October 24, 2026
- Implementing the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026 — The White House, October 16, 2026
- Top executives quit $25 bn US gas project over alleged Russian control — Business Standard, October 25, 2026
This article is news reporting and analysis based on the public sources listed above, as they stood on the dates shown. Where officials, lawmakers or analysts disagree, including on whether an action is lawful, their positions are attributed to them; Donald Trump Class Action is not a court and nothing here is legal advice. Facts in a developing story can change.