Trump, Putin Meet in Alaska for First Talks Since Ukraine Invasion

 

U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin met in Anchorage, Alaska, on Friday for a high-stakes summit focused on Russia’s war in Ukraine.

The leaders arrived at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, exchanging a handshake and posing for photographs before beginning closed-door talks. It marks their first in-person meeting since 2019, and Putin’s first with a U.S. president since Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine. While the two have spoken by phone since Trump’s reelection, they had not met during his second term until now.

Trump has been working for months to broker a deal to end the conflict, but Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was not invited to the meeting. Analysts say expectations for a ceasefire breakthrough are low.

“This is really a feel-out meeting,” Trump said earlier this week. “Probably in the first two minutes I’ll know exactly whether or not a deal can be made.” He also warned of “very severe consequences” if Putin refuses to agree to end the three-and-a-half-year w+r, which has caused massive casualties on both sides.

Meanwhile, the conflict r+ged on. Ukrainian officials reported that Russia launched dozens of drone str+kes overnight, k+lling seven civilians and inj¥ring 17 others.