The two leaders avoid answering questions about a possible ceasefire in Ukraine
US President Donald Trump greeted his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, with a vigorous handshake upon his arrival in the US city of Anchorage, Alaska, on Friday, marking their first face-to-face meeting since 2018.
Putin, who landed at Elmendorf-Richardson Air Force Base in Anchorage at around 8:54 p.m. (CET), shook hands with his American counterpart, who awaited his arrival under a long red carpet rolled out on the runway.
After an initial handshake, the two leaders walked to a podium with the words “Alaska 2025,” where they posed for the cameras again and finally entered the presidential car—in which Putin could be seen smiling—which drove them to the Arctic Warrior Events Center.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Special Envoy Steve Witkoff will be present at the meeting between the two leaders—which excludes Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky—as confirmed by White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt aboard Air Force One.
The change in format is significant, as the meeting between the parties was initially planned to be bilateral. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed that Putin will be accompanied by presidential adviser Yuri Ushakov and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov at a three-way summit.
Both Putin and Trump avoided answering questions about whether they would reach a ceasefire in Ukraine upon their arrival at the conference room, decorated with Russian and American flags. The meeting will be held behind closed doors.
Peskov had previously reported that the Russian and American delegations expect intense hours in Anchorage, with at least “six to seven hours” of work due to the “large number of events scheduled” between the two leaders’ entourage.
The Russian president is in Anchorage accompanied by Lavrov, the head of Russia’s sovereign wealth fund, Kirill Dmitriev, Defense Minister Andrei Belousov, and Finance Minister Anton Siluanov. Trump is accompanied by his Secretaries of Commerce and Treasury, Howard Lutnick and Scott Bessent, as well as Rubio.
