In a highly choreographed and symbolic display, U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin today met on American soil for the first time in more than a decade, holding high-stakes talks on the war in Ukraine after a warm and unusual greeting on the tarmac of Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson. The summit, held in the former Russian territory of Alaska, is a pivotal moment in a conflict that has raged for more than three years, but its outcome remains as uncertain as the relationship between the two leaders.
The arrival was a spectacle designed for the cameras. President Trump’s Air Force One and Putin’s Ilyushin Il-96 aircraft both landed on the runway, where a red carpet was rolled out and fighter jets stood in formation. The two leaders descended from their respective planes, walked the carpet, and met in a handshake that was both formal and friendly. In a move that surprised and raised eyebrows among seasoned diplomats, both leaders then got into the back seat of the presidential limousine—without staff or translators—to travel to the meeting site.
For President Trump, who has long boasted of his ability to negotiate with Putin, the meeting is a chance to deliver on a key campaign promise to end the war. “I won’t be happy if I walk away without some form of a ceasefire,” Trump told reporters on his way to Alaska, though he later acknowledged that this first meeting was primarily about “setting the table.”
For Putin, the summit offers a long-sought opportunity to break out of the diplomatic isolation imposed by the West and to re-engage with a U.S. president who has often expressed a desire for a transactional relationship. The choice of Alaska as the location is also significant, with some Kremlin-aligned analysts saying it “underlined the distancing from Europe and Ukraine.”
The core of the discussions, which a Kremlin spokesman said could last for six or seven hours, revolves around a potential peace deal for Ukraine. Trump has hinted at a “swapping of territories” as a possible solution, a proposal that has been fiercely rejected by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and has caused deep unease among European allies.
The summit has been met with both cautious hope and profound skepticism. Protesters, including a small group of Ukrainian-Americans, gathered near the military base, holding signs that read “Support Ukraine” and “No compromise.” Their fears, and those of their government, are that Ukraine’s future will be decided without its consent.
Inside the meeting room, the two leaders were seated with their top aides in front of a blue backdrop with the words “Pursuing Peace” printed on it. While the world waits for the outcome of the talks, the carefully choreographed event in Alaska serves as a powerful reminder of the high stakes and deep-seated divisions that define this conflict.