Putin, Trump arrive in Alaska for critical summit on Ukraine war starts

Anchorage (Alaska), Aug 15 (IANS) US President Donald Trump greeted Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska, for a high-stakes summit on Friday in the hopes of brokering a cease-fire in the war in Ukraine.

Trump disembarked his plane, Air Force One, and awaited Putin on the tarmac. The two exchanged greetings while smiling.

The White House has said that Trump will not be alone for his meeting with Putin, and will instead be joined by Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Special Envoy Steve Witkoff.

The post-meeting lunch will also be attended by Rubio, Witkoff, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth and Trump’s Chief of Staff Susie Wiles.

This high-stakes summit that could influence the course of the Ukraine war and US-Russia relations.

Trump aims to negotiate a broad peace deal, warning of “very severe consequences” for Russia if it does not de-escalate, while admitting there is a 25 per cent chance the talks could fail. Putin may seek to secure Russia's territorial gains, block Ukraine's Nato ambitions, and pull Ukraine back into Moscow's orbit.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and European leaders are notably excluded, raising concerns about decisions being made over Kyiv's head.

Key topics could include Ukrainian territorial concessions, US security guarantees outside Nato, and broader peace terms.

Nato's Alexus Grynkewich is in Alaska to advise Trump and Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth.

The summit is held at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, just three miles from Russia, highlighting US security, Cold War history, and Trump’s transactional approach to diplomacy.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who was not invited to the talks, and his European allies fear Trump might sell out Ukraine by essentially freezing the conflict with Russia and recognising - if only informally - Russian control over one-fifth of Ukraine.

Trump sought to assuage such concerns as he boarded Air Force One, saying he would let Ukraine decide on any possible territorial swaps.

"I'm not here to negotiate for Ukraine, I'm here to get them at a table," he said.

Asked what would make the meeting a success, he told reporters: "I want to see a ceasefire rapidly ... I'm not going to be happy if it's not today ... I want the killing to stop."

The Russian officials accompanying Putin in the talks with the US delegation will be foreign policy aide Yury Ushakov and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told CNN.

Trump hopes a truce in the 3-1/2-year-old war will bring peace to the region as well as bolster his credentials as a global peacemaker worthy of the Nobel Peace Prize.

For Putin, the summit is already a big win that he can portray as evidence that years of Western attempts to isolate Russia have unravelled and that Moscow is retaking its rightful place at the top table of international diplomacy.

Trump said there is mutual respect between him and Putin.

"He is a smart guy, been doing it for a long time, but so have I ... We get along, there's a good respect level on both sides," Trump said of Putin. He also welcomed Putin's decision to bring businesspeople to Alaska.

"But they're not doing business until we get the war settled," he said, repeating a threat of "economically severe" consequences for Russia if the summit goes badly.

--IANS

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