President Donald Trump is on his way to Alaska for a highly anticipated meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin—an encounter both leaders have described as potentially historic.
Before boarding Air Force One, Trump made it clear to reporters that he is not attending the meeting to negotiate on Ukraine’s behalf. Instead, he said, his focus is to bring Putin to the bargaining table.
“I’m not here to negotiate for Ukraine,” Trump stated. “Putin thinks his ongoing offensives give him leverage, but I believe they weaken his position. We’re aiming for an outcome that could bring peace in the near future. Russia will face serious economic repercussions if it refuses to reach an agreement.”
Trump also confirmed that the idea of a possible land exchange would be discussed but stressed that any final decision must come from Ukraine itself.
While Trump’s plane crossed the Pacific toward Alaska, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky urged the U.S. leader to press Moscow to halt its invasion. “It’s time to end the war, and Russia must take the necessary steps. We are counting on America,” Zelensky wrote on social media.
Accompanying Trump are senior officials including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, and CIA Director John Ratcliffe.
The meeting, set in the remote city of Anchorage, marks Putin’s first visit to the West since Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Although Putin suggested the meeting, Trump has warned it could conclude within minutes if the Russian leader refuses to compromise. The talks will be closely monitored by European leaders and Zelensky—who is not attending and has openly rejected Trump’s suggestions to cede territory.
Describing the session as a “feel-out meeting,” Trump noted this is his first face-to-face encounter with Putin since 2019. “I’m president, and he’s not going to play games with me,” he told reporters earlier in the week.
Trump promised that any binding agreement would come only after consultations with European leaders and Zelensky, culminating in a three-way negotiation over Ukraine’s future borders.
The talks are scheduled for 1900 GMT Friday at Elmendorf Air Force Base, a Cold War-era installation once used to monitor the Soviet Union. Adding symbolic weight, Alaska itself was purchased from Russia in 1867—a fact Moscow has occasionally cited in discussions of territorial swaps.
On the ground in Alaska, the atmosphere was a mix of tense diplomacy and surreal moments, including sightings of local wildlife. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov arrived wearing a sweatshirt emblazoned with the Soviet Union’s “CCCP” initials.
