WASHINGTON DC: US and Russian officials are gathering in Alaska ahead of a highly anticipated meeting today between US President Donald Trump and Russia President Vladimir Putin.
This will be their first face-to-face encounter in six years, with Trump aiming to fulfill a major campaign promise to end Russia’s conflict in Ukraine, according to BBC.
Positioning himself as a global peacemaker, Trump hopes to use his personal rapport with Putin to secure a ceasefire where previous efforts have failed. On Thursday, he admitted there was a “25% chance” the talks might not succeed.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has been excluded from the discussions and cautioned that any decisions made without his involvement would be meaningless.
In Anchorage, signs of the upcoming high-profile meeting are scarce, aside from the influx of international journalists mingling with tourists exploring Alaska’s wilderness during peak season.
The meeting will take place entirely on a nearby US military base, highlighting security concerns and the brief nature of the talks, which are expected to last only a few hours.
The summit occurs exactly one week after Trump’s deadline for Russia to agree to a ceasefire or face stringent new sanctions. Given the ongoing war since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, it was always unlikely that Moscow and Kyiv would reach a peace deal before that date.
Skepticism remains about whether Trump will follow through on his threat to impose sanctions on countries trading with Russia, a move that could spark a trade war with China. Nevertheless, he has indicated plans to impose secondary tariffs on India later this month due to its Russian oil imports.
Last week’s announcement of the Trump-Putin meeting effectively paused the sanctions countdown, giving both sides additional time to consider their next steps.
(Inputs from BBC)
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