U.S. President Donald Trump left Joint Base Andrews early Friday en route to Anchorage, Alaska, for a high-profile summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin, their first meeting since the start of the Russia-Ukraine war in 2022.
Trump is traveling with top administration officials, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, and special envoy Steve Witkoff. On his Truth Social account, Trump called the upcoming talks “HIGH STAKES!!!”
The leaders are set to meet at 11:30 a.m. local time (1930 GMT) at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, where Trump plans to personally greet Putin on arrival. NBC News reported that a formal welcome ceremony is expected.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, arriving in Alaska ahead of the summit wearing a sweater emblazoned with “CCCP” – the Russian abbreviation for USSR – told media that Moscow’s position on the conflict was clear and voiced hope for “useful” talks. He credited earlier visits by Witkoff for progress in preparatory discussions.
Trump has floated the idea of a territorial swap between Russia and Ukraine as part of a peace deal, warning Putin of “very severe consequences” if he refuses to end the war. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has rejected any territorial concessions but said Trump had expressed willingness to offer U.S. security guarantees to Kyiv.
While Trump has tempered expectations for a breakthrough, both sides have signaled interest in substantive dialogue. Alaska, sold by Imperial Russia to the U.S. in 1867, lies just 55 miles from Russia’s Far East and retains Cold War-era strategic significance, with U.S. aircraft from the base regularly intercepting Russian planes approaching American airspace.
