Trump, Putin soon to sit down for high-stakes Ukraine talks in Alaska
Putin is 'bringing a lot of business people from Russia, and that's good,' Trump said aboard Air Force One on Friday. 'I like that because they want to do business, but they're not doing business until we get the war settled.'
Trump told reporters that he believes 'something' will come of today's summit in Alaska.
According to the Kremlin, the two will sit down for their talks on Friday around 11:30am local time, with part of the meeting to be held in front of cameras and possibly with questions from reporters. This will be the first summit between a US and Russian leader since 2001.
A closed-door working lunch including US and Russian defence and trade ministers, will be part of the talks, although Putin press secretary Dmitry Peskov says no documents are expected to be signed after the summit.
US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, General Dan Caine, the president's top military adviser, and General Alexus Grynkewich, the top NATO and US commander in Europe are part of the delegation. So are US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and special envoy Steve Witkoff.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
South China Morning Post
18 minutes ago
- South China Morning Post
A brief history of China-Russia relations, from bitter rivals to close allies
Compared to American President Donald Trump's on-again, off-again bromance with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, the relationship between the latter and Chinese President Xi Jinping is on a much more even keel. Advertisement In recent years, China and Russia have forged a deepening strategic partnership marked by expanding trade, closer military cooperation and shared opposition to United States-led international norms, or what passes for norms in these bewildering, topsy-turvy times. The relationship between China and Russia stretches back centuries, long before either nation crystallised into its modern form, and is marked by commerce, conflict, diplomacy and cultural exchange. In 1618, a contingent led by the Siberian Cossack Ivan Petlin traversed Mongolia and the Gobi Desert to reach Beijing, making him the first Russian to have arrived in China in an official capacity. Petlin's mission heralded the dawn of Sino-Russian diplomacy. Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin toast during a dinner at the Kremlin in 2023. Photo: AP Just decades later, in 1654, 10 years after the collapse of the Ming dynasty, Tsar Alexis sent Fyodor Baykov as the first Russian ambassador to China, marking the first formal diplomatic missions between the fledgling Qing dynasty and Russia.
South China Morning Post
an hour ago
- South China Morning Post
RFK Jnr disavows US presidential run, pledges loyalty to Trump
US Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jnr said he is not running for president in 2028 in a social media post on Friday, pushing back on criticism from right-wing commentator Laura Loomer that he is disloyal to President Donald Trump. Advertisement 'The president has made himself the answer to my 20-year prayer that God would put me in a position to end the chronic disease epidemic,' Kennedy wrote. 'That's exactly what my team and I will do until the day he leaves office.' The declaration follows speculation, stoked by Loomer, that Kennedy, 71, has his sights set on the White House. Kennedy also defended one of his top aides, Stefanie Spear, from Loomer's attacks on her loyalty to the president. Last month, Spear joined a grass-roots organising call affiliated with a non-profit organisation that works to promote Kennedy's health policies. That group, MAHA Action, is led by Kennedy's book publisher, who also helped raise money through a super PAC for Kennedy's failed 2024 presidential bid. Loomer, a conservative political activist who has outsize influence in Trump's orbit, suggested Spear's presence on the organising call was evidence Kennedy was planning another campaign. Far-right activist Laura Loomer speaks to the media in New York in April 2024. Photo: TNS 'I think that there's a clear intention by Stefanie Spear to utilise her position to try to lay the groundwork for a 2028 RFK presidential run,' Loomer said on a Politico podcast that was released earlier this week.
South China Morning Post
6 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
Ukraine war: Trump and Putin prepare to meet in Anchorage, Alaska for US-Russia talks
US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin will soon begin a high-stakes summit in the Alaskan port city of Anchorage. The meeting will focus on the prospect of a ceasefire to end Russia's devastating three-and-a-half-year war against Ukraine, and will be the first face-to-face interaction between the two leaders since Trump returned to office in January. Initially seen as a meeting that could reshape the global order, determine Ukraine's future, and redefine America's standing with its allies, the Trump administration has since tried to downplay how conclusive it will be. This live blog has been made freely available as a public service to our readers. Please consider supporting SCMP's journalism by subscribing . New users who download our updated app get a seven-day free trial. Reporting by Khushboo Razdan in Anchorage, Robert Delaney and Frank Chen in Washington
