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Trump’s arrival
US President Donald Trump arrived in Anchorage, Alaska after boarding Air Force One for a seven hour flight from Washington.
Trump arrived at the Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, the chosen venue for the highly anticipated meeting, shortly before his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin’s plane landed.
The base was once a crucial US military asset tasked for monitoring the Soviet Union during the Cold War, and rarely receives non-military visitors, let alone two sitting presidents.
Putin’s arrival
Putin arrived for his high-stakes meeting with Trump, after having boarded the Russian presidential jet for around nine hours from the capital Moscow.
The Russian leader brought several high-ranking officials on his trip, including Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and his top foreign policy advisor, Yuri Ushakov.
They’re part of an agreed upon entourage with Trump also being joined by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and special envoy Steve Witkoff.
The handshake
Both leaders disembarked their planes at the same time and made their way down the red carpets, which were laid out to intersect in the middle, before a final stretch leading to a small stage branded with “Alaska 2025”.
Trump, who had the shorter walk from his plane, arrived at the meeting point on the red carpet where he awaited Putin. The US president was pictured smiling to the approaching Putin from a distance and even offered him three small bursts of applauses before meeting.
Trump greeted Putin warmly – despite his typical tug and pull style handshake – patting his counterpart’s shoulders several times before turning to face the cameras for a small photo session.
They pair then approached the stage where they posed for several more photos as US media present at the site hurled questions their way. They then both entered Trump’s presidential vehicle – codenamed ‘The Beast’ – where they were pictured sharing a laugh and smile, as they were driven together to the summit venue.
Closed-door talks
The leaders then entered the venue at the base where they were joined by their delegations.
Media personnel were briefly permitted into the room to take photos before the leaders began their discussions.
The discussions lasted around two-and-a-half hours, and although no breakthrough was made, Putin and Trump say they agreed to a common ground on which a potential peace path may be established.
The pair described their meeting as highly constructive and respectful.
Press conference
The two presidents then addressed the media in a joint press conference for just under 15 minutes where they offered a summary of their talks.
They then agreed that more negotiations are needed in the coming weeks to build on the momentum established in the Alaska Summit, with President Putin suggesting Moscow as the venue for their next meeting.
Trump chuckled saying “oh that’s an interesting one, I don’t know, I’ll get a little heat on that one, but I can see it possibly happening”.
Additional sources • AP
