Trump-Putin Talks: A Look Back at the February 2025 Riyadh Summit and Its Unfulfilled Promises

In February 2025, a highly anticipated meeting between then-U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin took place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Billed as the first face-to-face summit between the two nations since the onset of the Ukraine conflict, the talks aimed to lay the groundwork for restoring relations and finding a peaceful resolution. However, looking back from June 2025, many of the aspirations discussed remain largely unfulfilled.

A primary focus of the discussions was the ongoing war in Ukraine. Trump expressed a desire for a swift end to the conflict, while Putin indicated a willingness to negotiate a ceasefire, but only if Russia could retain control over significant swathes of Ukrainian territory. This included a demand for Ukraine to withdraw forces from four regions claimed by Russia. U.S. Secretary of Defense for NATO, Pete Hegseth, had already tempered expectations, stating that Ukraine’s NATO membership was unrealistic as part of a negotiated agreement and that restoring internationally recognized borders was an “illusionary aim.” Russia also firmly rejected the idea of NATO peacekeepers within Ukraine and demanded a retraction of NATO’s 2008 promise of Ukrainian membership.

Territorial disputes were central, with Russian troops controlling a substantial portion of eastern and southern Ukraine. Putin’s stance, reiterated in November 2024, was clear: no major territorial concessions and Kyiv must abandon its NATO ambitions. The prospect of a broader U.S.-Russian summit was floated, with both leaders expressing openness to future meetings beyond a mere courtesy call, emphasizing the need for prepared discussions on critical bilateral and global issues.

Economic matters, particularly energy, also featured in the talks. Trump’s consistent push for lower oil prices aligned with Putin’s interest in global energy markets. The meeting, hosted by Saudi Arabia, highlighted Russia’s need for Western technology to exploit its vast oil and gas reserves, especially after Gazprom’s significant loss of the European market. Hopes for a return of U.S. firms to Russia were voiced by Kirill Dmitriev, head of Russia’s sovereign wealth fund, contingent on the lifting of Western sanctions—a formidable barrier given the unprecedented scale of economic restrictions imposed after the invasion.

Nuclear arms control, specifically the New START treaty set to expire in February 2026, was another critical agenda item. Both Trump and Putin acknowledged the importance of limiting strategic nuclear arsenals. Discussions also touched upon the possibility of a new prisoner exchange, following the release of American citizen Kalob Byers just days before the Riyadh meeting, with Washington still advocating for other wrongfully imprisoned Americans. Finally, re-establishing diplomatic relations and resolving issues like frozen diplomatic properties and financial transaction restrictions were on the table, aiming to clear obstacles that had hampered bilateral ties.

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