| Photo: AP | Julia Demaree Nikhinson |
The highly anticipated Trump Putin summit has begun at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska.
- Donald Trump was the first to arrive at the base. While waiting for Putin, he met with Alaskan representatives: US Senators for Alaska Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan, and Governor Mike Dunleavy.
- Putin arrived approximately 20 minutes after Trump.
- Their planes were parked facing each other, with a red carpet laid out between them, flanked by four F-22 fighter jets.
Trump and Putin exited their aircraft nearly simultaneously, meeting halfway on the red carpet. They greeted each other and shook hands. Putin appeared very pleased, while Trump maintained a restrained, polite demeanor.
As they walked along the carpet, an F-22 fighter jet and B2 bombers flew over the base. Putin looked at the sky with interest; Trump paused and said something to him.
One of the journalists shouted at Putin: “When will you stop killing civilians?!” Putin did not answer the question; he either did not hear it or ignored it.
- Trump invited Putin into his car, and they drove together to the summit building where their delegations were waiting. The route was short, as the building is located close to the runway.
- They then proceeded to the hall and took their seats in front of a large banner inscribed with “Striving for Peace.”
- Journalists were briefly allowed into the room, asking questions and photographing Trump and Putin. Neither head of state answered questions, but Donald Trump thanked the journalists. He appeared focused. Putin initially seemed pleased and made faces, but it soon became evident that he was growing tired of the extended interaction with the press.
Trump Putin Summit Meeting Details
After the photo opportunity, journalists were asked to leave, and the summit began. Besides Trump and Putin, the participants include interpreters, the heads of diplomatic agencies — Marco Rubio and Sergey Lavrov, Putin’s foreign affairs advisor Yuri Ushakov, and Trump’s advisor Steve Witkoff.
Initially, Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump were expected to hold a one-on-one meeting, attended only by interpreters. However, shortly before the summit began, the White House announced that the meeting would instead take place in a “three-on-three” format.
