Trump lands in Alaska for meeting with Putin

ruff and vladimir vladimirovich putin to receive in ak

Here's what to expect ahead of the Trump, Putin summit in Alaska | Hanomansing Tonight

Putin meets Trump today. So what does he really want?

This was Putin’s last visit to the United States

Trump-Putin meeting to discuss Ukraine ceasefire met with skepticism

Zelenskyy, European leaders insist Ukraine must have say in peace talks

Trump, Putin set to meet in Alaska for further ceasefire negotiations | Hanomansing Tonight

Putin says decision to meet with Trump was mutual

Trump has arrived at the Alaska military base.

A Russian government plane has landed in Alaska, according to flight tracking system Flightradar24. It currently isn’t clear whether Putin is on board.

Trump also said today he's not going to "negotiate for Ukraine" at today's talks — a comment that could prompt some unease in Kyiv and the European capitals. Leaders there are worried Trump could agree to Putin's demands, like ceding some captured Ukrainian territory to Russia.

Zelenskyy's exclusion from this meeting is a heavy blow to the West's past policy of "nothing about Ukraine without Ukraine."

And Trump confirmed there will be talk of Ukraine handing over some of its territory as part of a settlement. Whether that actually happens will be Zelenskky's call, he said, though he made it clear the U.S. Expects him to make some concessions.

"I've got to let Ukraine make that decision. And I think they'll make a proper decision," Trump told reporters.

Trump also said there's "a possibility" of the United States offering Ukraine security guarantees, "but not in the form of NATO." Don't forget when Defence Secretary Peter Hegseth made waves earlier this year when he said Ukrainian membership in that military alliance is unrealistic. Putin vigorously opposes an expansion of NATO to Russia's border.

On board Air Force One on his way to Alaska, Trump laid out to reporters what he's hoping to achieve later today.

Trump hasn't put any clear policy goals in the window ahead of this meeting — other than reiterating his strong desire to bring the Russia-Ukraine war that Putin started to a close. He's said there will be "serious consequences" for Russia if the two sides can't sketch out a deal for peace.

When asked why Zelenskyy wasn't joining the Alaska summit, White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said that Putin had proposed the meeting and that Trump accepted so he could get a "better understanding" of how to end the war.

Leavitt has characterized the summit as a “listening exercise” for Trump, and said the U.S. President is open to a trilateral meeting with Putin and Zelenskyy later.

Putin, however, has so far been unwilling to meet with Zelenskyy.

European leaders have raised concerns that Trump and Putin will negotiate ceasefire terms behind Ukraine’s back, while Zelenskyy has said any decisions made without Ukraine are “dead decisions” that “will never work.”

We've also seen big — and small — protests in Anchorage since we've arrived. This sign, in the window of a liquor store, highlights the absence of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in these talks.

It reads, “No true peace without Zelensky present.”

It’s about time that ceasefire talks resumed, Gail Hanson told us. She has lived in Alaska for 48 years and is glad Trump chose the state to hold the pivotal meeting.

“We would love peace," she said. "We’re thrilled that they're gonna do this get-together. We've gotta get this whole thing figured out so that not another person loses their life.”

I'm here in Anchorage, Alaska, with our colleague Lyndsay Duncombe.

We've been asking locals what this meeting means to them. One resident, Liz Betchol, told us: "I think it's crap, honestly. Also the fact that they're not even bringing Ukraine into it. It's kind of like it just seems like you're going behind someone's back to do things. It just seems sneaky."

Trump and Putin will be meeting at the Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska.

Trump's announcement that he would host an American adversary on U.S. Soil broke with expectations that they would meet in a neutral third country. Alaska was likely chosen as something of a midpoint between Moscow and Washington, and experts say the base is the only location in the state with robust security capable of hosting the two leaders.

The U.S. Purchased Alaska from Russia in 1867, and its air force arrived during the Second World War when Elmendorf Air Force Base became a critical location for the U.S. Army. During the Cold War, the U.S. Used the base to monitor Soviet activity. Elmendorf merged with Fort Richardson in 2010.

The base is located about 15 kilometres from downtown Anchorage, a city of 290,000.

Good afternoon. I'm a senior writer covering the meeting from our national desk today.

This will be the first summit of the U.S. And Russian leaders since Putin and then-U.S. President Joe Biden met in Geneva in June 2021 — months before Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

It comes despite Trump’s recent threats of sanctions against Russia, having expressed frustration for weeks that Putin wasn’t doing more to quell the fighting. That was a change of tone for Trump, who has often been friendly toward Russia.

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