Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent appears with Maria Bartiromo to discuss the upcoming summit between Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump.

Bessent notes the backseat demands from EU leaders with their position on the Trump negotiation strategy has worn thin amid their hypocrisy.  “It’s time to put up or shut up,” Bessent says, when talking about how the EU is still facilitating the economic purchases of Russian energy products, while simultaneously demanding Trump do this and that. WATCH:

I am cautiously optimistic for a positive outcome from this summit.

DETAILS ON THE SUMMIT BELOW

♦ Date: Friday August 15, 2025

♦ Venue:  Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson near Anchorage, Alaska

♦ Anchorage is 4 hours behind Eastern Time zone.

DELEGATION:

USA President Donald Trump – Russian Federation, President Vladimir Putin

USA Press Secretary, Karoline Leavitt – Russian Federation, Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov

USA Secretary of State, Marco Rubio – Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov

USA Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth – Russian Defense Minister Andrei Belousov

USA Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent – Russian Finance Minister, Anton Siluanov

USA Envoy Steve Witkoff –  Russian Envoy Kirill Dmitriev

President Trump will depart the White House early Friday morning ET.  Trump is expected in Anchorage midafternoon Eastern time on Friday. The initial meeting with Putin is expected to take place at 3:30 pm ET (11:30 am local) with just the two leaders and translators.

Following the meeting, President Trump and President Putin with hold a lunch with members of delegations from both countries. The two leaders then plan to hold a joint press conference following their meeting, White House and Kremlin officials said Thursday morning.