President Trump and Vladimir Putin will meet in Alaska on Friday for historic summit focused on potential Ukraine ceasefire, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt confirms.
A historic summit is set to be held between President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Friday.
Though specifics on the summit like the time and exact location remain unknown, all eyes will be on the talks as world leaders wait to see what, if anything, can be accomplished in Putin’s first trip to the U.S. in a decade.
Here’s what we know:AGENDA
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed on Tuesday that Trump will travel to Anchorage on Friday morning for what she described as a “listening exercise” with Putin.
Trump, who on Monday described the talks as a “feel-out meeting”, has made clear that his chief agenda item will be to determine whether a ceasefire in Ukraine is even possible.
When pressed by reporters this week as to what he specifically hopes to achieve from the in-person talks with Putin — particularly following seemingly positive calls that only resulted in a “frustrated” Trump and continued Russian bombardment in Ukraine — the president was light on specifics.
Though he told reporters that he thinks he will know whether a ceasefire deal with Putin is even possible within the first “two minutes.”
“I’m not going to make a deal. It’s not up to me to make a deal”, he said. “I think a deal should be made for both [Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy].
“I’d like to see a ceasefire. I’d like to see the best deal that could be made for both parties. You know, it takes two to tango”, he added. EXPECTATIONS
Trump has raised geopolitical eyebrows over the last week when he suggested there would be a land “swap” that Russia and Ukraine would need to agree to.
While it remains unclear which borders he thinks will likely be moved around, particularly which Russian borders he foresees Putin handing over to Kyiv, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and his allies in NATO have made clear any deal forged without Ukraine will not be acceptable.
