US President Donald Trump greeted Russian President Vladimir Putin upon his arrival at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska, as the two leaders prepared for their high-stakes meeting. The summit, set for Friday, will address the Ukraine conflict, bilateral relations, and potential joint economic projects. The event includes a joint press conference and involves senior officials from both nations.
Trump arrived onboard Air Force One shortly before Putin. A large sign reading ‘Alaska 3025’ was put on display at the end of the red carpet, while four American fighter jets were positioned on either side of the carpet.
The initial talks will only involve the presidents and their aides, while the full delegations will join later. Trump and Putin will also hold a joint press conference after the negotiations.
The summit could last between six and seven hours, according to Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov. Although the Ukraine conflict is widely expected to be the summit’s central topic, the meeting’s agenda will encompass far more than that, according to Moscow.
Other topics the two presidents are slated to discuss include bilateral Russia-US relations, possible joint economic projects, and other regional and international issues, according to Peskov.
In addition to Putin, the Russian delegation includes Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, Defense Minister Andrey Belousov, Finance Minister Anton Siluanov, Kremlin aide Yury Ushakov, and presidential economic envoy Kirill Dmitriev, who has been a key figure in the Ukraine settlement process.
The US delegation includes Secretary of State Marco Rubio, CIA Director John Ratcliffe, Special Envoy to Ukraine and the Middle East Steve Witkoff, Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent, Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick, according to White House Press Secretary Caroline Leavitt.
US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth will also join the summit for an expanded bilateral meeting and lunch, the White House said.
It is Putin’s eighth visit to the US and the first one in about a decade. The last time the Russian president was in America was in 2015, when he attended the UN General Assembly in New York and held talks with then-President Barack Obama.