Russia demands U.S. clarification on Alaska talks before new peace proposals are put forward

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has called on Washington to clarify the outcomes of the Alaska summit before putting forward new peace initiatives on Ukraine.

This came in response to U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s statement that previous proposals had failed, made on July 23 in Manila following his meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.

Rubio spoke to journalists after an approximately 35-minute meeting with Lavrov on the sidelines of the ASEAN ministerial meetings in the Philippines. He commented on the so-called “Anchorage proposals” — a framework formula that Russia has been referencing since the summit between President Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska in August 2025.

“A peace agreement is impossible without the consent of both sides, and Ukraine did not agree to it — that is precisely why these efforts did not produce results. New approaches and new ideas will have to be found, since this option proved unacceptable to Ukraine then and, in my view, remains unacceptable now,” Rubio said.

Moscow responded several days later. According to the Turkish agency Anadolu, Zakharova stated that Moscow “confirms its readiness for a diplomatic settlement of the Ukrainian conflict on the basis of the understandings reached, including in Alaska,” and demanded that Washington clarify the situation before putting forward new proposals.

This exchange of remarks laid bare deep contradictions between the two countries over what, if anything, was agreed upon at the Alaska summit. Russia has repeatedly cited the “Anchorage formula” — which analysts assess as envisaging Russia gaining control over all of Donbas while the front line is frozen elsewhere — as a starting point for negotiations. The United States has consistently denied that any agreements were reached: as early as June 25, Rubio stated that “in Alaska there was a proposal, but there was no agreement.”

The Manila meeting produced no visible breakthrough. A State Department spokesperson confirmed that the parties “discussed U.S.-Russia relations and the need to end Russia’s war against Ukraine.” The Russian Foreign Ministry said Lavrov urged Washington to stop arming Ukraine, but Rubio stated that U.S. policy on weapons deliveries under the NATO PURL initiative remains unchanged.

Rubio acknowledged that American efforts to resolve the conflict had “stalled somewhat over the past few months” as the Trump administration focused on its military campaign against Iran. He described Russia’s losses as “colossal,” estimating them at five to six thousand soldiers killed per week, and noted that both sides have an incentive to end the fighting. The parties agreed to continue diplomatic contacts; the Russian communiqué also noted that the ministers welcomed the resumption of cooperation between Roscosmos and NASA.