Live updates: Trump and Putin to meet in Alaska for summit on war in Ukraine

Reuters

2 days ago

This graphic is last updated on August 12
Investors are tempering expectations that the summit will deliver a significant breakthrough on the war in Ukraine.
Ukraine's government bonds - key indicators of the mood - rallied when news of the summit emerged this month but have largely stalled at a still-distressed 55 cents on the dollar amid the pre-meeting posturing.
Trump himself has said it will be more of a "listening exercise" although he hopes it will go well enough for another meeting involving Zelenskiy soon afterwards - and threatened "severe consequences" if it doesn't.
Kathryn Exum, an analyst at emerging market-focused fund Gramercy, said the fact that Ukraine's bonds remain well below the highs they hit when Trump regained the White House despite their near 20% rally this month reflected limited market expectations.
"The bar is pretty high for any meaningful progress given the red lines of the parties seem deeply entrenched," Exum said.
15 minutes ago
04:30 EDT
Yuliia Dysa
On Wednesday, Zelenskiy said he warned Trump ahead of his talks with Putin that the Russian leader is "bluffing" about his desire to end the war.
Kyiv and its allies are worried the two leaders may try to dictate the terms of peace in the 3-1/2-year war.
"I told the U.S. president and all our European colleagues that Putin is bluffing," he said at a joint briefing in Berlin with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.
"He is trying to apply pressure before the meeting in Alaska along all parts of the Ukrainian front. Russia is trying to show that it can occupy all of Ukraine."
Zelenskiy's comments, made after a virtual call with Trump and European leaders, came as Russian forces step up pressure on the battlefield in eastern Ukraine, aiming to force Kyiv to give up land.
He said he hoped the main topic of the talks in Alaska would be an immediate ceasefire and added that any discussions on territory should be covered during a three-leader meeting.
Zelenskiy said Trump told him he would debrief him about his talks with Putin.
04:09 EDT
Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin are holding talks in Anchorage, Alaska on Friday.
The U.S. president's hopes of sealing a ceasefire agreement on Ukraine are uncertain, but Putin's last-gasp offer of a possible nuclear deal could help both men save face.
The summit, at a Cold War-era air force base, will be the first face-to-face between the U.S. and Russian leaders talks since Trump returned to the White House, and comes amid Ukrainian and European fears that Trump might sell Kyiv out.
Trump, who once said he would end Russia's war in Ukraine within 24 hours, conceded on Thursday the task was more difficult than expected and downplayed talk of a ceasefire emerging from the summit.
If talks go well, Trump said that could set up a subsequent three-way summit with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy - who was not invited to Friday's meeting.
Putin, whose war economy is showing signs of strain, needs Trump to help Russia break out of its straitjacket of ever-tightening Western sanctions.
The day before the summit, Putin also held out the prospect of something else he knows Trump wants - a new nuclear arms control agreement to replace the last surviving one, due to expire in February next year.
Talks start at 11 a.m. local time (1900 GMT), followed by a 3.30 p.m. press conference.
Stay with us for the latest developments.