
Trump and Putin's Alaska Summit in photos
US President Donald Trump arrived in Anchorage, Alaska after boarding Air Force One for a seven hour flight from Washington.
Trump arrived at the Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, the chosen venue for the highly anticipated meeting, shortly before his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin's plane landed.
The base was once a crucial US military asset tasked with monitoring the Soviet Union during the Cold War, and rarely receives non-military visitors, let alone two sitting presidents.
Putin's arrival
Putin arrived for his high-stakes meeting with Trump, after having boarded the Russian presidential jet for around nine hours from the capital Moscow.
The Russian leader brought several high-ranking officials on his trip, including Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and his top foreign policy advisor, Yuri Ushakov.
They're part of an agreed upon entourage with Trump also being joined by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and special envoy Steve Witkoff.
The handshake
Both leaders disembarked their planes at the same time and made their way down the red carpets, which were laid out to intersect in the middle, before a final stretch leading to a small stage branded with 'Alaska 2025'.
Trump, who had the shorter walk from his plane, arrived at the meeting point on the red carpet where he awaited Putin. The US president was pictured smiling to the approaching Putin from a distance and even offered him three small bursts of applauses before meeting.
Trump greeted Putin warmly – despite his typical tug and pull style handshake – patting his counterpart's shoulders several times before turning to face the cameras for a small photo session.
They pair then approached the stage where they posed for several more photos as US media present at the site hurled questions their way. They then both entered Trump's presidential vehicle – codenamed 'The Beast' – where they were pictured sharing a laugh and smile, as they were driven together to the summit venue.
Closed-door talks
The leaders then entered the venue at the base where they were joined by their delegations.
Media personnel were briefly permitted into the room to take photos before the leaders began their discussions.
The discussions lasted around two-and-a-half hours, and although no breakthrough was made, Putin and Trump say they agreed to a common ground on which a potential peace path may be established.
The pair described their meeting as highly constructive and respectful.
Press conference
The two presidents then addressed the media in a joint press conference for just under 15 minutes where they offered a summary of their talks.
They then agreed that more negotiations are needed in the coming weeks to build on the momentum established in the Alaska Summit, with President Putin suggesting Moscow as the venue for their next meeting.
Trump chuckled saying 'oh that's an interesting one, I don't know, I'll get a little heat on that one, but I can see it possibly happening'.

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LeMonde
an hour ago
- LeMonde
Sylvie Kauffmann: 'Putin can pretend to negotiate and engage in endless talks that never lead anywhere'
A bilateral meeting lasting under three hours, followed by a 12-minute joint press conference with no announcements: The Friday, August 15, summit between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin in Alaska left many questions unanswered. By Saturday morning, as European leaders and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky began reacting, Le Monde columnist Sylvie Kauffmann spoke with readers during our live coverage of the war in Ukraine. Pierre: Diplomacy is sometimes a theater, with each side seeking to claim success and assign blame in case of failure. Trump had gotten us used to breaking with tradition. Today, he is acting out a classic scenario. Isn't that already a sign that this summit has failed? Sylvie Kauffmann: Calling the summit a failure depends on what was expected of it. If people were hoping Vladimir Putin would commit to a serious ceasefire, then yes, it was clearly a failure. But I do not think that was a reasonable expectation. At this stage, with no results announced, it is neither a success nor a failure. We will have to judge based on the reactions of Europeans, so far very cautious, and the Trump-Zelensky meeting on Monday. There is, however, a significant risk, well known to Europeans: Putin can buy time by pretending to be ready to negotiate and engage in endless talks that never lead anywhere, while his army continues to gain ground and bomb Ukraine. That was essentially the tactic he used after the annexation of Crimea and the first invasion of Ukraine in 2014, during the Minsk negotiations with France, Germany and Ukraine. Let's discuss: How should we interpret the welcome given to President Putin as he came off his plane – with the red carpet, applause and a show of military strength featuring American jets in the background? S.K.: Trump is fascinated by Putin as a figure – he generally gets along well with "strongmen," but he is particularly interested in the Russian leader. He calls him by his first name, Vladimir, which he never does with Zelensky. All of this staging, on a US military base, was meant both to demonstrate American power to Putin and to treat him as the leader of another major power, worthy of every honor. This treatment is all the more ironic since Putin is not only the aggressor of an independent country, in violation of international law, but also subject to an arrest warrant for war crimes. Dodochampion: On the Russian side, did this summit have any other ambitions beyond relaunching Russia's international trade? S.K.: Putin's goal at this summit was first to gain respectability and second to buy time. On both counts, he succeeded: The welcome by the US president on American soil, with great ceremony, rehabilitated him on the international stage, even if he is a pariah in Europe. 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LeMonde
3 hours ago
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After the Trump-Putin summit, Europe must make a move
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France 24
4 hours ago
- France 24
In high-stakes summit, Trump, not Putin, budges
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