US President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin have arrived at a military base in Alaska for a much-anticipated summit on the war in Ukraine.
Trump and Putin shook hands and smiled as they opened the high-risk summit that will test the US president’s promise to end the bloody war in Ukraine.
In choreographed drama, Trump and Putin each arrived in their presidential jets and walked under gray skies to greet each other on the tarmac, before walking a red carpet together to an honor guard salute.
Trump, instead of a previously planned one-on-one meeting, will be joined by Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Special Envoy Steve Witkoff before a larger meeting over lunch that will include other officials, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters on Air Force One.
Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov will join Putin for his talks, broadcaster CNN reported, after Washington announced last minute that the leaders would not be meeting alone.
Both leaders voiced hopes of a productive meeting. But while Trump warned he could judge it a failure after just a few minutes if Putin does not budge, the Kremlin said the two would speak for at least six or seven hours.
For the Russian president, the summit marks his first foray onto Western soil since he ordered the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, triggering a relentless conflict that has killed tens of thousands of people.
In recent days, Russia has made significant battlefield gains that could strengthen Putin’s hand in any ceasefire negotiations. However, a Ukrainian unit fighting in the area said Friday that they had retaken some villages Moscow captured in a recent push.
Every word and gesture will be closely watched by European leaders and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who was not included and has refused pressure from Trump to surrender territory seized by Russia.
Zelensky: Moscow still killing people
Zelensky said Friday that Moscow was still killing people and not showing that it wanted to end the war, hours before the start of the summit.
“There is no order, nor any signals from Moscow that it is preparing to end this war… they are also killing on the day of the negotiations,” Zelensky said in a video address posted on social media.
Trump has called the summit a “feel-out meeting” to test Putin, whom he last saw in 2019, and said Friday he was not going to Alaska to negotiate.
“I’m here to get them at the table,” he said of the Russian and Ukrainian leaders.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Moscow would not forecast the outcome of the meeting.
“We never make any predictions ahead of time,” Lavrov told Russian state TV after he reached Alaska, wearing what appeared to be a shirt with “USSR” written across it in Cyrillic script.
Russia’s “position is clear and unambiguous,” he said.
Trump has promised to consult with European leaders and Zelensky, saying that any final agreement would come in a three-way meeting with Putin and the Ukrainian president to “divvy up” territory.
Severe’ consequences
Trump has boasted of his relationship with Putin, blamed predecessor Joe Biden for the war, and had vowed before his return to the White House in January that he would be able to bring peace within 24 hours.
But despite repeated calls to Putin, and a February 28 White House meeting in which Trump publicly berated Zelensky, the Russian leader has shown no signs of compromise.
Trump has acknowledged his frustration with Putin and warned again on Friday of “very severe” consequences if he does not accept a ceasefire.
Saying he “would walk” from the table if the meeting didn’t go well, Trump told reporters he “wouldn’t be happy” if a ceasefire could not be secured immediately.
(bms)
