U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin are meeting today, Friday at Alaska’s Elmendorf Air Force Base in a summit seen as pivotal to the future of the Ukraine war.
The expected peace talks mark Putin’s first trip to Western soil since launching the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, a conflict that has claimed tens of thousands of lives. Russia has made fresh battlefield gains in recent weeks, increasing the urgency and stakes of the meeting.
Trump extended the invitation after Putin suggested the venue, but the U.S. president has warned that the meeting could be brief if the Russian leader refuses to compromise.
“If it’s a bad meeting, it’ll end very quickly, and if it’s a good meeting, we’re going to end up getting peace in the pretty near future,” Trump told reporters Thursday, giving the summit “a one in four chance” of failure.
The summit is being closely monitored by European leaders and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who was excluded from the meeting and has publicly rejected Trump’s calls to surrender occupied territory.
Trump has pledged that any final peace deal would be discussed in a separate three-way meeting with Zelensky and Putin to decide on territorial arrangements.
Both leaders will meet privately with only interpreters present before moving to a working lunch with aides.
Neither is expected to leave the base for Anchorage, where demonstrators have gathered in support of Ukraine.
The encounter comes amid controversy over Trump’s past praise of Putin and criticism of his handling of their 2018 summit.
While Trump has threatened “severe consequences” if Putin resists a ceasefire, he has also temporarily eased U.S. sanctions on senior Russian officials to facilitate their Alaska visit.
The meeting’s location is symbolically charged, as the United States purchased Alaska from Russia in 1867.
It also comes despite an International Criminal Court arrest warrant for Putin, which does not apply in the United States.
Zelensky has called the summit a “personal victory”for Putin, saying it helps him break isolation and delay sanctions.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has pushed for security guarantees for Ukraine, an idea Trump has played down.
Diplomatic analysts caution that Putin may use the summit to appear cooperative while offering little substance.
“He’s a master of the new shiny object which turns out to be meaningless,” said Daniel Fried, a former U.S. diplomat.
The meeting is scheduled to begin at 11:30 a.m. local time (1900 GMT).
