Trump and Putin arrive in Alaska for 'high-stakes' meeting
They shook hands while smiling at each other on the red carpet and posed for a photo on a small stage with "Alaska 2025" written across it. The two leaders then entered the US President's famed Beast limousine and drove away.
The leaders, who historically have got on well, are meeting at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, a location that played a vital role in Washington's efforts to monitor Russia during the Cold War. The meeting, which Mr Trump described as 'high stakes', comes after months of failed US diplomacy to end the Russia-Ukraine war.
While on the campaign trail, Mr Trump promised that he would end the war within the first 24 hours of his second term. Eight months later, the war continues to rage.
Since January 20, when Mr Trump returned to the Oval Office, Russian attacks against Ukraine have more than doubled, according to a recent report from the BBC. As Washington changed tactics, slowing support for Ukraine and softening its rhetoric towards Russia, Mr Putin has attempted to ramp up military efforts against Ukraine.
Russia still occupies large areas of eastern Ukraine, and that land is likely to be at the centre of any potential peace deal. The Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has been adamant that Ukraine will not cede any territory, but Mr Trump, who has had a contentious relationship with Mr Zelenskyy, has said in the past that both countries may need to accept land swaps to achieve peace.
In February, the US President tasked Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Mike Waltz, who was then the national security adviser, and special envoy Steve Witkoff with meeting with a Russian delegation in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. That meeting laid the groundwork for the meeting between Mr Trump and Mr Putin that is taking place in Alaska, but it took longer than many expected for the two leaders to meet.
Despite Washington's overtures, Mr Putin has made very few real concessions on the battlefield, much to Mr Trump's chagrin. The President gave Mr Putin 50 days to end the war, a deadline that has since come and gone, threatening secondary sanctions on Moscow's major trading partners.
Earlier this month, Mr Trump once again dispatched Mr Witkoff to Moscow in an effort to rein in Russia's intensifying attacks. Mr Witkoff, who has a sprawling diplomatic portfolio, has met with Mr Putin five times in Russia since January.
Mr Witkoff will be among the US President's advisers at the summit. Other administration officials in attendance are Mr Rubio, who also serves as National Security Adviser, Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and several others.
Mr Putin is accompanied by his Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov – who wore a USSR sweatshirt as he arrived in Alaska – Defence Minister Andrei Belousov and Finance Minister Anton Siluanov. It is the first known meeting between Mr Trump and Mr Putin since 2018, when they met in Helsinki, Finland.
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