U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin are meeting today, Friday, at Alaska’s Elmendorf Air Force Base.
The summit is viewed globally as a pivotal moment, marking Putin’s first trip to Western soil since Russia launched its invasion in February 2022.
The high-profile talks come as Russian forces record fresh battlefield gains, increasing pressure for a breakthrough.
Trump has warned that the meeting could be short-lived if Putin 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,” he told reporters Thursday, estimating only “a one in four chance” of failure.
European leaders and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky are closely watching the Alaska summit.
However, Zelensky has been excluded from the initial talks and has openly rejected Trump’s calls to surrender occupied territory.
The U.S. president has promised that any final peace deal will be discussed later in a three-way meeting with both Zelensky and Putin to decide on territorial arrangements.
Trump extended the meeting invitation after Putin suggested the symbolic Alaska venue a location with deep historical ties as the U.S. purchased it from Russia in 1867.
Neither leader is expected to leave the Air Force base for Anchorage, where demonstrators have gathered to show solidarity with Ukraine.
The summit begins with a private meeting between Trump and Putin, attended only by interpreters, followed by a working lunch with aides.
The encounter comes despite an International Criminal Court arrest warrant for Putin, which does not apply in the United States.
While Trump has temporarily eased some U.S. sanctions on senior Russian officials to enable their visit, he has also threatened “severe consequences” if Putin resists a ceasefire. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has advocated for security guarantees for Ukraine, an idea Trump appears less eager to push.
“He’s a master of the new shiny object which turns out to be meaningless,” said former U.S. diplomat Daniel Fried.
Zelensky has criticized the summit as a “personal victory” for Putin, arguing it allows him to break isolation and delay sanctions.
Meanwhile, Russian state media has framed the talks as a chance for “constructive dialogue” after years of strained ties.
The Alaska summit set to begin at 11:30 a.m. local time (1900 GMT) could either mark the first step toward peace or add another chapter to a long history of failed negotiations.
