JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska (AP) — President Donald Trump and Russia’s Vladimir Putin kicked off their Alaska summit with a warm handshake on Friday, greeting each other like old friends before heading into hours of discussions that could reshape the war in Ukraine and relations between Moscow and Washington.
After descending from Air Force One, Trump applauded the Russian leader as Putin approached, walking along red carpets that had been placed for each leader. They gripped hands for an extended period of time, with both men smiling, and Putin eventually grinned and pointed skyward while their hands were still clasped.
Uniformed military members stood at attention nearby at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, and B-2s and F-22s — military aircraft designed to oppose Russia during the Cold War — flew over to mark the moment.
Reporters nearby yelled, “President Putin, will you stop killing civilians?” and Putin put his hand up to his ear but didn’t answer. Trump and Putin both climbed in the U.S. presidential limo, with Putin grinning widely as the vehicle rolled past the cameras.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the previously planned one-on-one meeting between Trump and Putin is now a three-on-three meeting that will include Secretary of State Marco Rubio and special envoy Steve Witkoff. Putin will be joined by Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and foreign affairs adviser Yuri Ushakov. The change indicates that the White House is taking a more guarded approach than it did during a 2018 meeting in Helsinki, when Trump and Putin first met privately just with their interpreters for two hours.
Putin and Trump are expected to hold a joint press conference at the end of the summit.
The sit-down gives Trump a chance to prove to the world that he is both a master dealmaker and a global peacemaker. He and his allies have cast him as a heavyweight negotiator who can find a way to bring the slaughter to a close — something he used to boast he could do quickly.
For Putin, a summit with Trump offers a long-sought opportunity to try to negotiate a deal that would cement Russia’s gains, block Kyiv’s bid to join the NATO military alliance and eventually pull Ukraine back into Moscow’s orbit. Despite having so much at stake, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and European leaders aren't invited.
There are significant risks for Trump. By bringing Putin onto U.S. soil — America bought Alaska from Russia in 1867 for roughly 2 cents per acre — the president is giving him the validation he desires after his ostracization following his invasion of Ukraine 3 1/2 years ago. Zelenskyy's exclusion from Trump and Putin's first meeting is a heavy blow to the West’s policy of “nothing about Ukraine without Ukraine” and invites the possibility that Trump could agree to a deal that Ukraine does not want.
Any success is far from assured because Russia and Ukraine remain far apart in their demands for peace. Putin has long resisted any temporary ceasefire, linking it to a halt in Western arms supplies and a freeze on Ukraine’s mobilization efforts, which are conditions rejected by Kyiv and its Western allies.
"HIGH STAKES!!!" Trump posted shortly before he boarded Air Force One.
On his way to the meeting, Putin stopped in Magadan, in Russia’s Far East, where he visited a factory producing omega-3 fish oil capsules, according to Russian state news agency RIA Novosti. Putin used the flight to review materials on Ukraine, tensions with the U.S., economic cooperation and global affairs, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in an interview with Russian state TV.
Trump said earlier in the week there was a 25% chance that the summit would fail, but he also floated the idea that if the meeting succeeds he could bring Zelenskyy to Alaska for a subsequent, three-way meeting.
Trump has also expressed doubts about getting an immediate ceasefire, but he has wanted a broad peace deal done quickly. That seemingly echoes Putin’s longtime argument that Russia favors a comprehensive deal to end the fighting, reflecting its demands, not a temporary halt to hostilities.
Trump has offered shifting explanations for his meeting goals
Trump previously characterized the sit-down as “ really a feel-out meeting.” But he's also warned of “very severe consequences” for Russia if Putin doesn't agree to end the war.
Trump said Friday that his talks with Putin will include Russian demands that Ukraine cede territory as part of a peace deal. He said Ukraine has to decide, but he also suggested Zelenskyy should accept concessions.
“I’ve got to let Ukraine make that decision. And I think they’ll make a proper decision,” Trump told reporters traveling with him to Alaska.
Trump said there’s “a possibility” of the United States offering Ukraine security guarantees alongside European powers, “but not in the form of NATO.” Putin has fiercely resisted Ukraine joining the trans-Atlantic security alliance, a long-term goal for Ukrainians seeking to forge stronger ties with the West.
Gen. Alexus Grynkewich, NATO’s supreme allied commander Europe, is in Alaska to provide “military advice” to Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, according to a senior NATO military official who wasn't authorized to speak publicly and spoke on the condition of anonymity. His presence is likely to be welcomed by European leaders who have tried to convince Trump to be firm with Putin and not deal over Kyiv’s head.
On his way to Alaska, Trump sat for an interview on Air Force One with Fox News Channel’s Bret Baier. In a clip posted online, he said he thought the meeting would “work out very well — and if it doesn’t, I’m going to head back home real fast.”
“I would walk, yeah,” he added, after a follow up question.
Zelenskyy has time and again cast doubts on Putin's willingness to negotiate in good faith. His European allies, who’ve held increasingly urgent meetings with U.S. leaders over the past week, have stressed the need for Ukraine to be involved in any peace talks.
The summit could have far-reaching implications
Foreign governments will be watching closely to see how Trump reacts to Putin, likely gauging what the interaction might mean for their own dealings with the U.S. president, who has eschewed traditional diplomacy for his own transactional approach to relationships.
The meeting comes as the war has caused heavy losses on both sides and drained resources.
Ukraine has held on far longer than some initially expected since the February 2022 invasion, but it is straining to hold off Russia’s much larger army, grappling with bombardments of its cities and fighting for every inch on the over 600-mile (1,000-kilometer) front line.
While some have objected to the location of the summit, Trump has said he thought it was “very respectful” of Putin to come to the U.S. instead of a meeting in Russia.
Sergei Markov, a pro-Kremlin Moscow-based analyst, observed that the choice of Alaska as the summit’s venue “underlined the distancing from Europe and Ukraine.”
Being on a military base allows the leaders to avoid protests and meet more securely, but the location carries its own significance because of its history and location.
Alaska is separated from Russia at its closest point by just 3 miles (less than 5 kilometers) and the international date line.
Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson was crucial to countering the Soviet Union during the Cold War. It continues to play a role today, as planes from the base still intercept Russian aircraft that regularly fly into U.S. airspace.
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Weissert reported from Washington. Associated Press writers Matthew Lee and Jonathan J. Cooper in Washington, Elise Morton in London and Vladimir Isachenkov in Moscow contributed to this report.
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