Trump and Putin meet in Alaska — follow live

Times

2 days ago

Kirill Dmitriev, Putin's special economic envoy, posted a video to X of an encounter with a black bear hours before the summit began.
'Hopefully a good sign,' Dmitriev wrote.
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The bear is widely recognised as a symbol of Russia, and has been depicted in cartoons, articles and dramatic plays since the 16th century.
A moose and a black bear were also spotted roaming the grounds outside Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson on Friday. It's far from an uncommon site in Anchorage; the city is home to about 1,500 moose and as many as 350 black bears.
The Trump administration is considering sanctions against the Russian energy giants Lukoil and Rosneft if Putin does not agree to a ceasefire, according to Bloomberg.
The report, which cites unnamed sources, noted that measures aimed at squeezing the Russian energy sector may be implemented gradually. US officials have largely avoided targeting Russia's oil sector over fears that doing so could raise domestic energy prices.
Fox News has released a brief clip of an interview with Trump conducted by its chief political anchor Bret Baier on board Air Force One. 'Hillary Clinton said that if you got this deal done and not capitulate to Putin, she would nominate you for the Nobel peace prize,' Baier said.
Trump responded: 'Well that was very nice. I may have to start liking her again.'
• How Trump hopes to win the Nobel peace prize
Trump and Putin appeared to engage in a friendly discussion on their way to the summit without the presence of interpreters, leading many to wonder about the Russian leader's proficiency in the English language.
Putin rarely speaks English in public, but world leaders including George W Bush and Tony Blair have remarked that he is capable of holding informal conversations. There are clips online of the Russian leader greeting people, making jokes and giving brief remarks in English.
During a series of interviews in 2017 with the American film-maker Oliver Stone, Putin used English and Russian interchangeably. In 2021 his spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, claimed he was so proficient that he often corrected his own interpreters.
Putin is fluent in German, having been stationed in Dresden, East Germany, from 1985 to 1990 while serving as a KGB officer.
1: Yury Ushakov, a top foreign policy aide in the Kremlin
2: Sergey Lavrov, the Russian foreign minister
3: An unidentified translator
4: President Putin
5: President Trump
6: A second unidentified translator
7: Marco Rubio, the US secretary of state
8: Steve Witkoff, Trump's special envoy
The two sides are in a room and talking about the war in Ukraine. Here are five things they are likely to be discussing — and one they almost certainly won't be.
The two leaders have arrived at a building on the military base where they will hold a three-on-three meeting.
As they took their seats in front of a blue backdrop with the words 'Pursuing Peace', US reporters shouted questions at Putin, asking: 'Mr Putin, will you commit to not killing any more civilians?' and 'President Putin, why should President Trump trust your word now?'
Putin made an inaudible comment, and put his hands round his mouth in a gesture that appeared to indicate he could not hear what was being said.
'Thank you very much,' Trump said, before the press was ushered out of the room.
Despite assurances from the White House that the two leaders would not hold one-on-one talks, the two men drove off accompanied only by Secret Service agents. Putin could be seen smiling in the backseat of the US president's armoured limousine, known as the Beast.
Trump said earlier today that he would know within a few minutes of meeting Putin if the meeting would be a success.
The two leaders disembarked from their respective planes and walked down a red carpet on the tarmac at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson.
Trump applauded his Russian counterpart before shaking hands and exchanging pleasantries. The two leaders stood on a stage marked 'Alaska 2025', as Putin ignored reporters' questions whether he would agree to a ceasefire. The two leaders then entered a US presidential limousine.
Putin's plane has just landed at Elmendorf-Richardson base in Anchorage, a few minutes ahead of schedule.
Trump is yet to emerge from Air Force One, and has apparently been waiting for Putin's arrival. The US president has been meeting on board the aircraft with Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan, Alaska's Republican senators, as well as Mike Dunleavy, the state governor, according to Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary.
What does the Russian leader want from these talks? Marc Bennetts analyses his motivations, from land deals to history lessons — and why he is already at an advantage.
Shortly before Trump arrived in Alaska to meet his Russian counterpart, President Zelensky released a videotaped statement in which he reiterated that Russian military strikes were continuing across Ukraine.
'On the day of negotiations, the Russians are killing as well. And that speaks volumes,' he said. 'Ukraine is ready to work as productively as possible to bring the war to an end, and we count on a strong position from America. Everything will depend on this.'
Trump will no longer have a one-on-one meeting with President Putin, the White House has said. Instead, the US president will be accompanied by Steve Witkoff and Marco Rubio for a three-on-three meeting. The two Russians joining Putin will be Sergey Lavrov, his foreign minister, and Yury Ushakov, his top foreign policy aide.
This meeting will be followed by a working lunch at which Trump, Witkoff and Rubio will be joined by Scott Bessent, the Treasury secretary, Howard Lutnick, the commerce secretary, Pete Hegseth, the defence secretary and Susie Wiles, Trump's chief of staff.
Trump has landed in Anchorage for his summit with Putin. Air Force One touched down at 10.25am local time (7.25pm BST).
Two podiums are set up in a ballroom on Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, in front of the words 'Pursuing Peace' (David Charter writes in Anchorage).
The arrangement suggests a joint press conference will take place later with both Trump and Putin. About 300 journalists, photographers and TV camera crews crammed into a media tent next door awaiting the arrival of Air Force One. One half of the room is for 'US Press', including international media based in the United States, and one half for 'RU Press'.
The day began for media members covering the summit with a 5am local time meet up in a shopping centre car park on the edge of Anchorage to load into buses for the short drive into the base. After a few hours of delays and a thorough screening with security wands, bag searches and sniffer dogs, we arrived in the media tent at 9.45am local time (6.45pm BST).
Trump made a series of comments about the summit earlier today as he took questions from reporters on Air Force One. Here is a summary:
On a ceasefire: 'I want to see a ceasefire. This has nothing to do with Europe, Europe's not telling me what to do. But they're going to be involved in the process obviously, as well as Zelensky. I want to see a ceasefire rapidly. I don't know if it's going to be today, but I'm not going to be happy if it's not today. Everyone said it can't be today, but I'm just saying I want the killing to stop.
On territorial concessions: The president said these would be discussed at the meeting but would have to be approved by Ukraine. 'I have to let Ukraine make that decision,' Trump said. 'I think they'll make a proper decision, but I'm not here to negotiate for Ukraine. I'm here to get them at a table.'
On security guarantees for Ukraine: 'Along with Europe and other countries, not in the form of Nato. Because that's not going to, you know, there are certain things that aren't going to happen. But yeah, along with Europe, there's possibility [of security guarantees].'
On continuing Russian drone strikes: '[Putin] is trying to set a stage. In his mind, it helps him make a better deal. It actually hurts him,' Trump said. 'But in his mind that helps him make a better deal if they can continue the killing. Maybe it's a part of the world, maybe it's just his fabric, his genes, his genetics. I'll be talking to him about it.'
On 'economic incentives': 'I notice he's bringing a lot of business people from Russia, and that's good. I like that because they want to do business, but we're not doing business until we get the war settled. We have the hottest country on Earth. We have the hottest economy on Earth.
'He wants a piece of that, because his country is not hot economically. In fact its the opposite. I want everybody to do well. But the war's got to stop and the killing's got to stop.'
Putin and Trump arrived in Alaska with several key members of their administrations in tow. The US contingent is full of familiar faces.
The delegation from the Kremlin, however, may surprise — it includes a poet, Harvard student and sanctions-buster, as Marc Bennetts explains.