Topline
President Donald Trump left the White House Friday morning en route for Alaska , where he’ll meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin for the first time in six years as Trump seeks to negotiate an end to the Russia-Ukraine war.
Trump departed the White House just before 8 a.m. ET en route to Anchorage, Alaska, where he’ll meet Putin at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson at 3:30 p.m. ET, followed by a lunch with delegations from both countries.
The two will then hold a joint press conference, the White House has said.
The White House has tempered expectations of the meeting, with White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt referring to it as a “listening exercise” at Putin’s request, describing “the goal of this meeting for the president . . . to walk away with a better understanding of how we can end this war.”
Trump told Fox News Thursday he is optimistic Putin is “going to make a deal” and that he will “know very quickly” whether the Russian leader wants to cooperate, though Trump also acknowledged this week he doesn’t believe he can convince Putin to fully stop the violence, telling reporters “I guess the answer to that is no, because I’ve had this conversation” when asked if he believes he can convince Putin to stop bombing civilians.
Putin, meanwhile, said Thursday the U.S. was “making, in my opinion, quite energetic and sincere efforts to stop the hostilities, stop the crisis and reach agreements that are of interest to all parties involved in this conflict.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Wednesday on X “there is no sign that the Russians are preparing to end the war,” but he believes coordination between the U.S. and Ukraine’s partners in Europe “can definitely compel Russia to make peace.” Zelenskyy also told reporters this week Ukrainian officials “hope that the central topic of the meeting will be a ceasefire. An immediate ceasefire,” following a call between Trump and European leaders in which Trump’s meeting with Putin was discussed. Zelenskyy has also rejected Trump’s proposal for a potential swapping of Ukrainian territories.
Trump and Putin last met in 2019 at the G20 summit in Japan, their sixth meeting during Trump’s first term.
Russia will face “severe consequences” if he doesn’t ultimately agree to end the war, Trump said Wednesday following the call with European leaders. Trump also said he hopes to broker “a quick second meeting between President Putin and President Zelenskyy” following Friday’s sit-down.
Trump has become increasingly critical of Putin as the Russian leader has resisted Trump’s attempts to broker an end to the Russia-Ukraine war. Trump, who in 2019 after their sit down in Japan, said he and Putin had a “very, very good relationship,” called Putin’s niceties “bulls–t” in July. Trump’s desire to negotiate a ceasefire is widely believed to be tied to his public bid for a Nobel Peace Prize.
Kremlin Says Trump And Putin Will Meet One-On-One Before Delegation Talks (Forbes)
Trump Says He Made No Progress On Ukraine-Russia War In Call With Putin (Forbes)
Trump Says Ukraine And Russia Will Negotiate Ceasefire Directly After Putin Call (Forbes)