Nothing is off the table as Trump and Putin set to meet
The state leaders are set to begin their summit at 11:30 a.m. local time (3.30 p.m. ET) at the Elmendorf Richardson military base in Anchorage, Alaska.
There will then be a working lunch for both delegations, before the presidents hold a joint press conference to summarize their talks.
The presser will undoubtedly be one of the most closely watched events of this year, revealing just how near — or far — is the end of the war in Ukraine that has spanned more than three and a half years.
"Trump wants to exhaust all options to have a peaceful end to war," the White House stated on the eve of the Alaska summit.
It remains to be seen whether those "options" will ultimately be good or bad for Ukraine.
Not only is a ceasefire at stake — if Trump can persuade Putin to agree to one — but so are Ukraine's territorial integrity, Europe's security, Russia's economy and geopolitical alliances.
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who has a checkered relationship with Trump and was not invited to the Friday event, will be nervous as the talks get underway.
Both he and his European allies fear the U.S. leader could capitulate to skilled negotiator Putin's likely demands for Moscow to retain occupied Ukrainian territory and cut short Ukraine's NATO membership aspirations, in return for halting its military offensive.
Moscow has released more details about the summit than the White House, which only this week confirmed that the presidents' talks would be a "one-on-one" meeting.
The Kremlin echoed that view, stating that Trump and Putin will meet "in a tete-a-tete format" behind closed doors with translators in tow, "naturally," according to Putin's aide on foreign affairs, Yuri Ushakov.
"Considering that very important topics of a sensitive nature will be discussed, the list of participants in the negotiations is not big," Ushakov added, in comments translated by NBC News.
Russia's delegation includes only a few members of Putin's inner circle, with Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Defense Minister Andrei Belousov, Finance Minister Anton Siluanov and Kirill Dmitriev, Russia's investment and trade envoy, as well as Ushakov.
The presidential aide commented that "it is obvious to everyone that the central topic will be the settlement of the Ukrainian crisis," including the "broader tasks of ensuring peace and security," as well as pressing international and regional issues.
Signaling that Russia will be looking to extol the economic benefits of a rapprochement with the U.S., Ushakov added that "an exchange of views is expected regarding the further development of bilateral cooperation, including in the trade and economic area," noting that "this cooperation has enormous and, unfortunately, untapped potential."
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Yahoo
15 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Trump Says Talks With Putin ‘Productive' But ‘No Deal' Yet
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He talked of unspecified agreements with Trump, and suggested that Ukraine was only one of multiple issues discussed, pointing to the potential for increased trade and business cooperation as well as work in the Arctic and in space exploration. The event followed the longest ever face-to-face meeting between the two leaders. But despite their extended conversation neither leader provided clear details on their discussion or on where they found common ground, a move that will likely intensify anxiety in European capitals and in Kyiv about an agreement that sidelines their input. 'We had a very productive meeting. There were many, many points that we agreed on — most of them I would say — a couple of big ones that we haven't quite gotten there but we've made some headway,' Trump said, adding that he would discuss the summit's developments with Zelenskiy and allies in NATO. 'I'm going to start making a few phone calls and tell them what happened, but we had an extremely productive meeting and many points were agreed to,' he said. Trump did not specify which points he saw as potentially contentious or that might prove sticking points with Kyiv and allies. 'There are just a very few that are left. Some are not that significant; one is probably the most significant,' he said. 'We didn't get there but we have a very good chance of getting there.' Trump and Putin ended the event, which had been originally billed as a joint press conference, without fielding any questions from reporters. Few Specifics Ahead of the talks European allies expressed anxiety that Trump might concede too much to Putin or strike a broad deal that involves exchanges of territory without the consent of Kyiv. While Trump and Putin did not detail any agreements that might cement those fears, those worries are likely to intensify. 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Putin said it was important for countries to 'turn the page.' He also closed by indicating in English that Trump should meet him 'next time in Moscow,' a suggestion the US president did not immediately reject. 'Oh, that's an interesting one. I'll get a little heat on that one, but I could see it possibly happening,' Trump said. Friday's summit opened with a highly-choreographed spectacle that saw Trump greet Putin on American soil, the Russian leader's first visit to the US in nearly a decade. The two met on the tarmac, with Trump clapping as Putin approached and welcoming him with a warm handshake and a pat on the arm. A flyover that included a B-2 bomber offered a show of force by the US but Trump was also seen putting his hand on Putin's back and engaging in friendly conversation before the two departed in the president's own limousine to the summit site. 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USA Today
16 minutes ago
- USA Today
Native Ukrainian left speechless after ‘no deal' summit
Native Ukrainians disappointed after no deal was reached Trump and Putin's high stakes summit Ukrainian-American Volodymyr Valchuk said he already had low expectations for the high-stakes summit between President Donald Trump and Russian leader Vladimir Putin. But after listening to the world leaders meet in person for the first time in six years to end Russia's war in Ukraine, Valchuk admitted this was a head-shaker. "I'm speechless. I have nothing to say. I really didn't expect much, but this is even worse than I thought," Valchuk, 46, told USA TODAY. "That's what I'm feeling right now." Valchuk, a respiratory therapist who lives in San Rafael, California, said he's "very disappointed" when Trump said "no deal" was reached to end the three-year Ukraine war. 'At least they could've given us a little idea what Putin said the agreement was,' Valchuk said about the summit held in Anchorage, Alaska. 'Trump said he will talk to NATO and (Ukrainian President Volodymyr) Zelenskyy, but I really don't know what that means? 'Yeah, I'm disappointed,' said Valchuk, who came from Ukraine to the US to attend college in 1996. 'Very disappointed.' Valchuk, who gained his American citizenship in 2004, said he doesn't know what will happen next for his homeland. 'I just hope it's not going to cost Ukraine some of its land and more lives,' Valchuk said. 'I hope.' Live updates: Trump, Putin meet in Alaska summit How the war looks for two Ukrainian teens currently in the US For two Ukrainian-born teenagers, Taisiia Grygorova and Sofiia Kopytko, who are spending this summer performing across the East Coast in a play titled "Voices from Ukraine: Stories of War and Hope," they told USA TODAY that no matter what outcome comes from the summit in Anchorage, Alaska, the war can't end soon enough. Grygorova, 19, who lives in Kharkiv, a city near the Ukrainian-Russian border, said despite the constant rocket attacks, drones, air raids, and explosions, her thoughts are always with the people suffering through the continuous combat. Grygorova, who's studying journalism at Warsaw International University, said she regularly returns to Kharkiv to visit her parents and four younger siblings, despite the dangers. "And every time I go there I prepare myself, 'Taia, you're going for two weeks, and it's a 100% chance that you will get under a rocket attack at least four times during this time, but you'll be fine, your younger brothers and sisters live in this nightmare every day, you can handle two weeks,'" Grygorova said. Grygorova said her youngest brother, a six-year-old, is supposed to start school this year, but she wonders how with the threat of bombings. "You will ask, 'What risk?' Well, there is always a possibility that one of those bombs, which are flying over the city, will hit a school where kids are studying," Grygorova said. "My brother is going to study underground, with no sunlight, with no possibility to play outside, to run freely over a football pitch or hear the birds singing." Grygorova said her mother keeps all of the family documents near the front door, just in case they need to leave their house forever. "That's how the war looks for me and my family," Grygorova said. Sofiia Kopytko, 18, from Chernihiv, Ukraine, said the war has not only been about territory, the lack of resources and weapons, but also the doctors who work in critical conditions, and families like Grygorova's who live in occupied territories and face death daily as a result of random air strikes. "Human lives are not statistics, but the most valuable thing that each of us has, and we must protect it," Kopytko said. "After all, you never know what tomorrow holds and whether it will come at all." Grygorova said she desperately wants the war to end so that people can live their lives in peace. "I hope that when the war is over, I'll be able to visit my family without fear," Grygorova said. "I hope that my city will be renovated. I hope I'll be able to help in the rebuilding of my country, where I want my future kids to grow up." Kopytko said her wishes are quite simple. "That there will be no more news of death and destruction, just simple happiness," Kopytko said. "Of course, I can talk about building a career and a family, but for me, these are the components of the happiness I strive for. First and foremost, free people in a free country. In a free Ukraine."
The Hill
16 minutes ago
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All eyes on the Trump-Putin Alaska summit
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