WASHINGTON
US President Donald Trump departed Joint Base Andrews near Washington early Friday for Alaska, where he and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin are set to hold a closely watched summit.
Accompanying Trump are senior US officials, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, and special envoy Steve Witkoff.
Ahead of the meeting, Trump posted on his US social media company Truth Social: “HIGH STAKES!!!”
The two leaders are scheduled to meet at 11.30 am local time (1930GMT) in Anchorage, the largest city in the US state, marking the first talks between sitting US and Russian presidents since the Russia-Ukraine war began in February 2022.
Trump is expected to roll out the red carpet for Putin’s arrival at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson and personally greet him when he arrives, NBC News reported, citing two senior administration officials.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, after arriving in Alaska wearing a sweater with the letters “CCCP” – Russian for USSR – written on it, said Russia’s “position is clear” on the conflict and voiced hope for a “useful conversation” during the summit, according to media reports.
“Much has been accomplished already during the visits by the US President’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff,” he told Russian media, expressing optimism the talks would continue productively.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Wednesday that Trump had expressed readiness to provide his country with security guarantees.
Trump has said Russia and Ukraine would swap territories as part of a peace agreement and threatened Putin with “very severe consequences” if he does not agree to end the war in Ukraine at the summit.
Zelenskyy has consistently opposed any territorial concessions.
Ahead of the meeting, Trump has tempered expectations from the talks with Putin.
Lavrov’s “USSR” sweater may have been a subtle nod to the history of the base, which during the Cold War played a key role in US monitoring of the Soviet Union.
The state of Alaska — sold by Czarist Russia to the US in 1867 — comes as close as 55 miles (88.5 kilometers) to Russia’s Far East, and planes from the base reportedly still routinely intercept Russian aircraft flying into US airspace.
