‘Next time in Moscow’: Putin spoke last words in English at Alaska summit while inviting Trump to Russia | World News
During the much awaited Alaska summit on Friday, the Russian President Vladimir Putin was speaking through a translator at the joint press conference with US President Donald Trump after concluding a nearly three hours three-on-three meeting. At the conclusion of his speech, Putin said, “And next time in Moscow,” to a surprise for everyone as it was a rare public usage of English the Russian leader.
In a high-stake summit in Anchorage, Alaska on Friday regarding the Ukraine war, there were several moments when President Putin and Trump exchanged words without interpreters, sparking a parallel debate whether Putin speaks English or not.
As Trump welcomed Putin on the red carpet, rolled out the federal adminration for the Russian leader, they joked and later conversed in the back seat president’s limousine, dubbed “The Beast.”
🇷🇺🇺🇸 Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President @realDonaldTrump following talks in #Anchorage, Alaska:
💬 President #Putin: Next time in Moscow💬 @POTUS: I could see it possibly happening#RussiaUSA pic.twitter.com/wJQBarzhI3
— MFA Russia 🇷🇺 (@mfa_russia) August 16, 2025
As Putin concluded his remarks at the joint press conference, he invited Trump to Moscow for another round of discussion and said “Next time in Moscow.” Trump, and others present were visibly surprised at the Russian president’s usage of English and the US president replied, “Ooh, that’s an interesting one.”
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Putin spoke in Russian for the majority of his speech, except for inviting Trump to Moscow when he switched to English.
The summit concluded without a ceasefire deal but Putin also said “thank you so much” at the end of it in Alaska. Putin, who is a former Russian intelligence officer with the Soviet Union’s security service, the KGB, uses translators to avoid the usage of English during diplomatic conversations.
However, the Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov in 2021 had said Putin, who is fluent in German, speaks good English and “sometimes even corrects the translators.”
Though both the leaders did not take any questions from the press after the completion of their press conference and concluding the Alaska summit, Putin even dodged questions journals upon arriving in Alaska signalling that either he can’t hear them or couldn’t understand them.
