Trump lands in Alaska for crunch Ukraine summit
The American president is meeting with his Russian counterpart in Alaska to discuss bringing an end to the Russia-Ukraine war which has been raging for more than three years.
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky once said he wanted to end by 2023, and Trump said he would end the war within '24 hours' of being re-elected last year.
But now Trump and Putin are set to meet for the first time in six years for a one-on-one meeting about Ukraine's future that left Zelensky off the guest list.
It's a high stakes meeting, with Trump simply writing 'HIGH STAKES!!!' on his Truth Social account before taking off for Alaska.
The US president has beaten Putin to the summit, touching down at the Elmendorf-Richardson military base in Alaska on Air Force One.
Once both the US and Russian presidents have touched down, they're set to meet at 11.30am local time (8.30pm BST) during a 'working breakfast'.
Trump and Putin are expected to meet behind closed doors, with interpreters the only other people in the room.
Once that's done, the two presidents are expected to hold a wider meeting with their delegations, before Trump gives Mr Zelensky and other European leaders a call, and a joint press conference is held.
Trump's stance on the war has swung wildly in recent months. One moment, the president is humiliating Zelensky in the Oval Office. The next, he's calling out Putin's 'bulls**t' and saying he's 'disgusted' with him. More Trending
In comparison, Putin has remained fairly tight-lipped about his goals for the meeting.
'The current American administration… is making, in my opinion, quite energetic and sincere efforts to stop the hostilities, stop the crisis and reach agreements that are of interest to all parties involved in this conflict,' he said yesterday.
Mr Zelensky is not best pleased about the 'bilateral' meeting excluding him, and has raised concerns that talks 'will not achieve anything' without Ukraine having a seat at the table.
'We understand Russia's intention to try to deceive America – we will not allow this,' he said over the weekend.
Got a story? Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk. Or you can submit your videos and pictures here.
For more stories like this, check our news page.
Follow Metro.co.uk on Twitter and Facebook for the latest news updates. You can now also get Metro.co.uk articles sent straight to your device. Sign up for our daily push alerts here.
MORE: Unruly flyer is 'picked up like a child' and restrained by fellow passenger
MORE: Russia-linked DHL warehouse fire in Birmingham left Amazon container '100% destroyed'
MORE: Who is Gavin Newsom? The trolling Democrat feuding with Donald Trump
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Channel 4
27 minutes ago
- Channel 4
Words, Not Deals: Ukrainians disappointed by lack of peace agreement
In Ukraine the image of American soldiers kneeling at the foot of Vladimir Putin's plane to roll out the red carpet has been shocking to say the least. People are worried not only that Russia has been brought out of international isolation – but that America seems intent on forcing Ukraine into giving up land. And a vague promise of security guarantees isn't proving terribly reassuring either.
The Independent
27 minutes ago
- The Independent
Putin demands Zelensky surrenders Donestsk region as condition for ending war in Ukraine
The Russian leader told Donald Trump that he would be prepared to stop fighting on the rest of the frontline if Ukraine gave in to the demand and address 'root causes of the conflict'. The concessions were discussed at the highly-anticipated summit of the two leaders in Alaska on Friday, which ended with no peace deal despite nearly three hours of talks. Sources very close to the meeting told The Independent the dramatic move appears to have been endorsed by Mr Trump as a means to bring an end to the war. They said that Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky would want to 'clarify this on Monday' when he meets with Mr Trump on Monday in Washington DC. Mr Putin's condition for Ukrainian troops to withdraw from Donetsk and Luhansk, which make up the Donbas region, follow circulated reports on the demand ahead of Friday's summit. The Russian president also said he would freeze the frontline in the southern regions of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia, where his forces occupy large territory. However, Putin made clear he would not fall back on core demands to 'resolve root causes of the conflict', that includes Ukraine becoming a neutral state and abandoning Nato aspirations. The Donetsk region has been centre of much of recent fighting, with Russian troops making a sudden thrust near the eastern town of Dobrophillya in the days before the summit. While Russia controls almost all of Luhansk, it holds about 70 per cent of Donetsk. Last week, Mr Zelensky insisted he would reject any proposal to withdraw from the industrial Donbas region, claiming it would 'open a bridgehead' for Russian offensive. All eyes will now turn to his meeting with Mr Trump on Monday. After Friday's summit, the US president said a permanent peace deal was now the best way to end the war, appearing to abandon aims at the summit for a ceasefire agreement. He also told Fox News in an interview that he would advise Mr Zelensky to make a deal. 'Yeah. Look, Russia is a very big power, and they're not,' he said when asked what he would say. Speaking ahead of Monday's meeting, Mr Zelensky said: 'I plan to discuss all the details regarding the end of the killings, the end of the war with President Trump in Washington on Monday. Grateful for the invitation.' On Saturday, Mr Putin, who also plans to visit Washington to meet Mr Trump, said Friday's meeting was 'timely' and 'useful'. The US and Russia are now 'closer to making appropriate decisions', Putin added. Meanwhile, European leaders have been putting piling pressure on Mr Trump not to cave to Putin's demands. They also support Mr Zelensky in his demand for security guarantees as part of a peace deal, to deter Russia from invading again in the future. Sir Keir Starmer and leaders from Italy, France and Germany were also on the call with Mr Zelensky spoke and the US president after Friday's summit. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said the security guarantees - inspired by the transatlantic NATO alliance's Article 5 - had been the most interesting development at the summit. Speaking at the press conference after the summit, Mr Putin, who has hitherto opposed involving foreign ground forces, said he agreed with Trump that Ukraine's security must be "ensured". On Sunday afternoon, the coalition of the willing, a group of countries that have pledged to protect Ukraine, including the UK, will meet, with French president Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Sir Keir expected to lead it. In a statement on Saturday, Sir Keir said: 'President Trump's efforts have brought us closer than ever before to ending Russia's illegal war in Ukraine. His leadership in pursuit of an end to the killing should be commended. 'While progress has been made, the next step must be further talks involving President Zelenskyy'.
BreakingNews.ie
28 minutes ago
- BreakingNews.ie
State sends National Guard members to Washington at Trump team's request
West Virginia is sending 300 to 400 members of its National Guard to the US capital to assist in the Trump administration's takeover of the city's police department. The move by a nearby state comes as hundreds of District of Columbia National Guard were activated this week to back up local law enforcement in what the Republican administration calls an effort to crack down on crime and homelessness in the District of Columbia. Advertisement Governor Patrick Morrisey said in a post on Saturday on X that he was deploying '300-400 skilled personnel' from the West Virginia National Guard to support Mr Trump's 'initiative to make DC safe and beautiful'. Mr Morrissey said the step reflects 'our commitment to a strong and secure America'.
