‘No Agreement in Alaska’: Rubio Rejects Kremlin’s Ukraine Deal Narrative

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has publicly rejected Russian claims that Washington and Moscow reached an agreement on Ukraine during the Alaska summit in August 2025, saying no deal was ever finalized.

As broadcasted by DRM News, Rubio said the summit produced only a proposal, not a binding agreement.

“We are prepared to step forward and play a constructive role if there’s one for us to play, and bringing the parties together and bringing that war to an end,” he said.

“That’s what the President has tried to do now for a year and a half, but there was no agreement in Alaska. There was a proposal made in Alaska, but it was never an agreement,” Rubio added.

The meeting marked Russian President Vladimir Putin’s first visit to US soil since 2022 and was widely viewed as a diplomatic boost for Moscow after years of Western isolation, following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Rubio’s remarks directly contradict repeated claims by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, who has insisted that Moscow accepted a US-backed framework on Ukraine during the Alaska talks and that Washington later failed to push Kyiv to accept it.

Russian claims

In early June, Lavrov claimed Russia had accepted what he described as American proposals presented during the August 2025 summit in Anchorage.

“Aug. 15 of this year will mark one year since the Alaska summit, where the Russian leadership accepted the American proposals on Ukraine following their consideration,” Lavrov said.

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“Since then, we have seen no progress, no desire to persuade Ukraine to accept these American proposals,” he added.

Lavrov claimed the US had previously signaled the possibility of broader cooperation if the war in Ukraine was resolved, but said Washington ultimately failed to uphold its side of the arrangement.

According to him, Russia has operated on the assumption that the Ukrainian issue was effectively settled during the August 2025 summit in Anchorage after Moscow accepted what he described as US proposals.

Lavrov said Washington initially acted as a mediator, but later cooled toward the process and failed to pressure Kyiv to accept the proposed framework.

Following this, on Tuesday, Lavrov said Russia no longer sees the West as a credible broker in efforts to end the war amid increasing sanctions and pressure on Russia.

He also suggested the Alaska meeting may have been used to buy time for Ukraine to rearm itself.

Alaska summit

Before the summit, US President Donald Trump floated a controversial “territory swap” proposal under which Ukraine would cede the occupied Donetsk and Luhansk regions.

Along with this, Ukraine would freeze front lines in Kherson and Zaporizhzhia in exchange for territory in Kharkiv and Sumy. However, Kyiv rejected the proposal.

Despite Trump’s pre-summit threat of sanctions on Russia if no ceasefire was reached, the meeting produced neither a ceasefire nor new sanctions.

The Alaska summit has remained a contentious reference point in Russian rhetoric, with Moscow repeatedly citing alleged understandings between the parties, despite no public confirmation of any finalized deal.

Although Moscow’s demands have evolved, Russia’s core conditions remain largely unchanged: recognition of occupied territories, including Crimea, restrictions on Ukraine’s military, a ban on Ukraine joining NATO, and broader political concessions.