Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin met in Anchorage, Alaska, on Friday to discuss terms for a potential end to Russia’s war against Ukraine — without the involvement of Ukraine.
The president was joined by Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, and invited Putin to ride with him to the summit inside the presidential vehicle known as “the Beast,” an unprecedented honor rarely granted to foreign leaders.
As the two leaders descended from their respective aircraft onto the tarmac in Anchorage, President Trump clapped and waved at President Putin, shaking hands with his Russian counterpart before the pair departed together. The summit took place in Alaska as a workaround to the outstanding International Criminal Court warrant against Putin, which precludes the Russian autocrat from traveling to any nation that would apprehend him.
The summit, which excluded a major party to the war, seemed hasty and tenuous from its inception. “I don’t know if we’re going to get an immediate ceasefire,” Trump told Fox News on Thursday, adding that there was about a “25 percent” chance the meeting would be a total failure.
In an interview given to Fox News aboard Air Force One en route to Alaska, Trump told host Bret Baier that he was prepared to “walk” and “head back home real fast” if things didn’t go his way.
Trump had stated earlier in the day that his plan was not “to negotiate for Ukraine.” The Ukrainian government has dismissed the meeting as ineffective political theater that will only favor Putin. “I believe that Putin will benefit from this, because what he is seeking, frankly, is photographs,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Friday.
Some Democrats have leveled similar criticisms. “This is a big moment for Putin because he essentially is being legitimized in the eyes of the United States and in the eyes of the world,” Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) said on Friday. “We know there’s not going to be any major peace deal here, because one of the major parties to the war is not at the table.”
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Last week, Trump teased the possibility that he would discuss territory swaps with Putin during the meeting, a proposal that has long been a nonstarter for Ukraine. “You’re looking at territory that’s been fought over for three and a half years. … So, we’re looking at that, but we’re actually looking to get some back and some swapping. It’s complicated,” the president said at the time.
From Rolling Stone US
