U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin are in discussions during a high-stakes summit in Alaska that could determine the trajectory of the war in Ukraine and the fate of European security.
Trump’s allies have cast the U.S. president as a heavyweight negotiator who can find a way to bring the slaughter to a close, something he used to boast he could do quickly. For Putin, a summit with Trump offers a long-sought opportunity to try to negotiate a deal that would cement Russia’s
gains, block Kyiv’s bid to join the NATO military alliance and eventually pull Ukraine back into Moscow’s orbit.
There are significant risks for Trump: By bringing Putin onto U.S. soil, the president is giving Russia’s leader the validation he desires after his ostracization following his invasion of Ukraine 3 1/2 years ago. Any success is far from assured, especially as Russia and Ukraine remain far apart in their demands for peace.
The Latest:
A top aide to Trump says the president, Putin and their aides are still meeting.
The aide, Dan Scavino, said Trump, Rubio and Witkoff are still behind closed doors with Putin and the Russian delegation. The meeting began around 3:30 p.m. ET.
The nation’s capital and the Trump administration appear to be nearing a temporary agreement on the leadership of the city’s police department.
Washington’s top attorney, Brian Schwalb, told reporters he expects the U.S. to agree that the city police chief remains in charge of the department, at least for the coming days.
The two sides sparred in court for hours Friday after the city sued to block the federal government from putting a Trump administration official in charge of city police officers.
The federal judge overseeing the lawsuit said the law doesn’t allow the federal government to name a new police chief, but the city can’t completely keep them out either.
U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes asked the two sides to hammer out a compromise but promised to issue a court order temporarily blocking the administration from naming a new chief if they couldn’t agree.
Journalists spend a lot of time during big stories standing around waiting for news to happen.
Alaska has done its best to break up the monotony for television reporters and cameras crews who have been standing outside the main gate at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage this week ahead of Friday’s summit.
On Wednesday, a young moose inside the base property came to the tall cyclone fence that is the base perimeter to catch a glimpse of the reporters before disappearing back into the forest.
On Thursday, a good-sized black bear was seen walking through a wooded area across the busy four-lane road outside the gates. Reporters could be heard yelling “Bear! Bear!” to warn others.
Wildlife is common on or near the base, located within the Municipality of Anchorage.
The Kremlin shared two clips of Putin and Trump smiling and talking before the two world leaders began their sit-down meeting in Alaska, alongside Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Putin’s foreign affairs adviser Yuri Ushakov.
Russian media outlets also shared images that appeared to show a bemused Putin raising his eyebrows in response to shouted questions from assembled reporters. At one point, Putin cupped his hands around his mouth and appeared to say something, although his voice could not be heard.
While Trump was meeting privately with his top aides and Putin, his political team sent out a fundraising email that said, “I’m meeting with Putin in Alaska!”
“It’s a little chilly,” the fundraising pitch said. “THIS MEETING IS VERY HIGH STAKES for the world.”
It also said, “No one in the world knows how to make deals like me!” and encouraged people to donate, suggesting they start with $10.
It’s because the former secretary of state said she’d nominate Trump for a Nobel Peace Prize herself if he negotiates an end to Russia’s war on Ukraine without Ukraine having to give up territory.
“Well, that was very nice,” Trump said when asked about Clinton’s comment during an in-flight interview with Fox News Channel. “I may have to start liking her again.”
Trump and Clinton were presidential rivals in 2016 and have had a contentious relationship. Trump has also been angling to be awarded the prestigious peace prize.
The full Fox News interview is set to air later Friday.
Interviewed by Bret Baier of Fox News Channel aboard Air Force One as he flew to Alaska, Trump said he’d like to walk away from the meeting with a ceasefire.
He also said he’d like a second meeting on Russia’s war in Ukraine.
“I wouldn’t be thrilled if I didn’t get it,” Trump said of a halt to hostilities between the countries. He said everyone tells him he won’t get a ceasefire until a second meeting.
“So, we’ll see what happens. I’m going to be, I won’t be happy if I walk away without some form of a ceasefire,” he said.
The two leaders were seated in a room with their aides in front of a blue backdrop that had the words “Pursuing Peace” printed on it.
Trump and Putin were seated in the middle of the chair arranged in a horseshoe, with a small table between them with drinking glasses and paper.
They didn’t take any questions but Trump said, “Thank you” to reporters who were briefly in the room.
The two leaders’ motorcade made the short drive to a building on the base where they’re expected to meet and hold a news conference later.
Both leaders got into the backseat of Trump’s armored presidential limousine, chatting with each other and smiling as they got situated.
Trump greeted Putin at an air base in Alaska on Friday as a squadron of U.S. stealth military planes designed during the Cold War in part for use in a possible conflict with the Soviet Union flew overhead.
As Trump and Putin shook hands at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson outside Anchorage, F-22s and B2 bombers soared above. Neither plane entered active service until after the Cold War had ended but their design and development began during the 1970s and 1980s when the U.S.-Soviet rivalry was at its height.
The presence of the planes during the red carpet welcome afforded to Putin by summit host Trump may have been intended to remind the Russian leader of U.S. military might as the pair head in to talks focused on Russia’s war with Ukraine.
Both leaders stood alongside each other, shaking hands again, appearing to exchange words and ignoring shouted questions from reporters on site.
The two men shook hands and smiled warmly as they greeted each other on the tarmac at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson.
Russian state news agencies Tass and RIA Novosti reported Friday that Putin will use Aurus, a high-end Russian-made limousine, in Alaska.
The agencies posted footage of a black limousine with Russian license plates and a small Russian flag attached to the hood driving around the tarmac.
Putin brought Aurus on foreign trips before, and even gifted one to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un last year.
Russian state news agency RIA Novosti quoted Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov as saying that Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Putin’s foreign affairs adviser Yuri Ushakov will join the Russian leader during his “three-on-three” meeting with Trump, Rubio and Witkoff.
Lavrov and Ushakov took part in the first in-person Russia-US talks in February this year.
The Russian president hasn’t been to the United States since a 2015 meeting at the U.N. General Assembly in New York.
The International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant on war crimes accusations for Putin in 2023. But the U.S. isn’t a member of that global body, so officials are under no obligation to arrest him.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy expressed, during a video address on Friday, his hope for a “strong position from the U.S.” ahead of talks between Trump and Putin in Alaska.
“Everyone wants an honest end to the war. Ukraine is ready to work as productively as possible to end the war, and we hope for a strong position from the U.S.,” Zelenskyy said.
The Ukrainian leader also stressed that Russia “is still killing people” despite the upcoming negotiations.
“The war continues and it continues precisely because there is no order, nor any signals from Moscow that it is preparing to end this war,” he added.
Trump has yet to leave Air Force One.
He’s meeting aboard the aircraft with Alaska U.S. Sens. Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan, as well as Gov. Mike Dunleavy, according to White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt.
Russian state news agencies RIA Novosti and Tass report that a motorcade with top Russian officials who are part of the delegation has departed to the summit venue.
Putin’s foreign affairs adviser Yuri Ushakov said earlier that those joining the Russian president in Alaska will include himself, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, Defense Minister Andrei Belousov, Finance Minister Anton Siluanov, Putin’s envoy for investment and economic cooperation Kirill Dmitriev.
Press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters aboard Air Force One that Trump won’t be meeting Putin alone, as she had previewed earlier in the week, but instead will be joined the secretary of state and his special envoy.
Leavitt said it would be a three-on-three meeting instead of a one-on-one.
His planned lunch meeting with Putin was to include Rubio and Witkoff, along with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and White House chief of staff Susie Wiles.
Alaska was part of the Russian empire until 1867, but Friday marks the first time a Russian leader has visited the area.
Alaska was colonized by Russia starting from the 18th century until Czar Alexander II sold it to the United States in 1867 for $7.2 million. When it was found to contain vast resources, it was seen by Russians as a naïve deal that generated remorse.
After the USSR’s collapse, Alaska was a subject of nostalgia and jokes for Russians. One popular song in the 1990s went: “Don’t play the fool, America … give back our dear Alaska land.”
Trump arrived in Alaska on Friday for a pivotal summit with Putin that could reshape the war in Ukraine and relations between Moscow and Washington.
Trump was scheduled to meet Russia’s president at his plane shortly. A large “Alaska 2025” sign, flanked by four parked fighter jets and red carpets, was placed on the tarmac at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage for the leaders’ arrival. Trump and Putin have shared closely watched handshakes before — but the one they are expected to have Friday will be as scrutinized as any, as will any body language or hints about how each is feeling.
The sit-down gives Trump a chance to prove to the world that he is both a master dealmaker and a global peacemaker. He and his allies have cast him as a heavyweight negotiator who can find a way to bring the slaughter to a close — something he used to boast he could do quickly.
▶ Read more about Trump-Putin summit
Trump made those comments during a gaggle aboard Air Force One, noting that the Russian delegation includes business people.
Trump also suggested that Russia’s latest strikes on Ukraine represent Putin “trying to negotiate,” adding that any consequences for Russia would be “economically severe.”
Uniformed military members are now standing alongside the red carpet area, leading to the “Alaska 2025” sign and platform.
Minutes after Trump’s plane landed, Air Force One moved by the scene as final preparations were being made.
Russian state news agency RIA Novosti quoted Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov as saying that Putin will lay flowers at the tomb of Soviet pilots in Alaska after his summit with Trump.
An “Alaska 2025” sign and red carpet are ready on the base tarmac for the leaders’ arrival.
The carpeting is lined on either side with fighter jets, parked at an angle,
The National Guard now assisting law enforcement in Washington, D.C. are under the direct control of Trump as delegated through Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, the National Guard says.
Trump’s authority is delegated through Hegseth and Secretary of the Army Gen. Leland Blanchard, the commanding officer of the D.C. Guard.
The direct coordination of the Guard’s operations in Washington is being handled by Col. Larry Doan, the leader of the National Guard’s D.C. task force. Doan’s responsibilities include working with the Metropolitan Police Department and other federal agencies working on law enforcement in the district.
Unlike the 50 states, Washington is governed by federal laws including Title 32, which gives the president control over the Guard in the District of Columbia without the need to fully federalize Guard units.
In a snippet from an interview aboard Air Force One with Fox News Channel’s Bret Baier posted on X, Trump predicted that his meeting with the Russian president would “work out very well — and if it doesn’t, I’m going to head back home real fast.”
“I would walk, yeah,” he added, after a follow up question from Baier.
Friday afternoon on social media, Trump posted a video clip from a gaggle also aboard the plane, in which he was asked what would make the summit a success.
“I want to see a ceasefire rapidly. I don’t know if it’s going to be today but I’m not going to be happy if it’s not today,” Trump told reporters, as he stood in an aisle of the plane. “I’m in this to stop the killing.”
General Alexus Grynkewich, NATO’s Supreme Allied Commander Europe is in Alaska to provide “military advice” to President Trump and Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, a senior NATO military official told AP, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly.
Grynkewich, who is the commander of U.S and NATO forces in Europe, is a supporter of Ukraine and views Russia as a clear threat to European security. He has previously spoken of the need to get military aid into Kyiv quickly, including after President Trump said in July that NATO would be coordinating deliveries of U.S weapons.
Grynkewich’s presence in Alaska is likely to be welcomed by European leaders who have spent recent days trying to convince President Trump to be robust with President Putin and not to do a deal over Kyiv’s head.
As the DC police department prepared to fight the Trump administration in court about a block away, more than 100 protestors gathered in front of police headquarters to rally against the federal takeover.
Protesters chanted “protect home rule” and waved signs saying “Resist!”
Organizer Nee Nee Taylor of FreeDC shouted on the microphone, “One thing Trump can’t take away from DC is our resilience and our joy.”
Police Chief Pamela Smith’s statement came in a court filing Friday as the city seeks to block the federal takeover of its police department in court.
Smith said the Trump administration’s order installing a federal official as “emergency police chief,” if allowed to stand, would upend command structure and be ‘dangerous’ threat to law and order.
Washington’s top legal official is seeking an emergency restraining order in federal court. District of Columbia Attorney General Brian Schwalb argues the police takeover is illegal and threatens to “wreak operational havoc.”
“If Donald Trump negotiates an end to Putin’s war on Ukraine without Ukraine having to cede territory, I’ll nominate him for a Nobel Peace Prize myself,” the former U.S. secretary of state wrote on X.
Trump has already said he believes a peace deal would likely require the swapping of Ukrainian territories by both sides.
Clinton, Trump’s 2016 Democratic opponent, linked to her appearance on the “Raging Moderates” podcast, where she offered Trump some advice: “He is not meeting with a friend. He is meeting with an adversary.”
But Clinton said that if Trump can negotiate a ceasefire, have Russia withdraw from the territory it seized and bring an end to the war without making Ukraine concede territory, she would join the Nobel lobbying.
Trump and his allies have been lobbying for years for him to get the prize.
Putin is scheduled to arrive at 11:00 a.m. local time Friday in Anchorage, where he will be met at the plane by Trump, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in an interview with Russian state TV, an excerpt of which was published on reporter Pavel Zarubin’s Telegram channel on Friday.
According to Peskov, during the four-hour flight from Magadan, Putin will review materials on Ukraine, bilateral tensions, economic cooperation, and global affairs.
The president posted on his social media network that he had “a wonderful talk” with the president of Belarus, Aleksandr Lukashenko.
He said their “good” conversation included a discussion of Putin’s visit.
Trump said they also spoke about the release of some prisoners earlier this year and the future release of prisoners. He did not offer details.
Trump said Russian drone attacks on civilian areas of Ukraine are a misguided effort to improve Putin’s negotiating position.
“Maybe it’s a part of the world. Maybe it’s just his fabric, his genes, his genetics,” Trump told reporters traveling with him to the Alaska summit. “But he thinks that gives him strength in negotiating. I think it hurts him, but I’ll be talking to him about it later.”
Trump also talked on Air Force One about economic benefits for Russia, while warning of more severe sanctions if the talks aren’t fruitful.
“I noticed he’s bringing a lot of business people from Russia, and that’s good,” Trump said. “I like that because they want to do business, but they’re not doing business until we get to war settled.”
Attorney General Pam Bondi’s directive putting the DEA administrator in charge of D.C. police came after Police Chief Pam Smith updated guidance on arresting immigrants.
Smith had told Metropolitan Police Department officers to share information with immigration agencies regarding people not in custody, such as someone involved in a traffic stop or checkpoint. But she said other MPD policies remain in effect, limiting inquiries into immigration status and preventing arrests based solely on federal immigration warrants.
The Justice Department said Bondi disagreed with the police chief’s directive because it allowed for continued enforcement of “sanctuary policies.” Trump is testing the limits of his legal authorities, relying on obscure statutes and a supposed state of emergency to speed the mass deportation of people in the U.S. illegally.
▶ Read more on developments related to the federal takeover of the capital’s police force
The nation’s capital challenged Trump’s takeover of its police department in court on Friday after his administration named the DEA administrator as the new “emergency police chief.”
District of Columbia Attorney General Brian Schwalb accused Trump of going far beyond his legal authority and asked a judge to keep control of the police department in district hands.
“The administration’s unlawful actions are an affront to the dignity and autonomy of the 700,000 Americans who call D.C. home. This is the gravest threat to Home Rule that the District has ever faced, and we are fighting to stop it,” Schwalb said.
Trump says there’s “a possibility” of the United States offering Ukraine security guarantees alongside European powers, “but not in the form of NATO.”
Trump spoke to reporters aboard Air Force One on his way to the summit with Putin in Alaska.
He said it will be up to the Ukrainians to decide whether to concede land to Putin as part of a peace deal, but added: “I think they’ll make the proper decision.”
“I’m not here to negotiate for Ukraine,” Trump said. “I’m here to get them at a table.”
The office of President Emmanuel Macron says the French leader and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke Thursday and again Friday before the Trump-Putin summit. The two have agreed to meet each other after the U.S.-Russia summit, when “it will be most useful and effective.”
The brief readout of the exchanges didn’t detail any specifics of what Macron and Zelenskyy discussed.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Secretary of State Marco Rubio are among the Trump administration officials joining the president for his flight to Alaska.
Trump will also be accompanied on Air Force One by CIA Director John Ratcliffe and top White House aides, including Chief of Staff Susie Wiles.
Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff and Monica Crowley, a former Fox News commentator serving as Trump’s chief of protocol, also are making the trip.
With the Washington, D.C., Metropolitan Police Department potentially in open conflict with the federal government over the terms of Trump’s departmental takeover, the police department is looking to address public concerns.
“What’s most important for our community to know is that MPD remains committed to delivering high-quality police service and ensuring the safety of everyone in our city,” a Friday morning statement from an MPD spokesperson.
The city appears poised to fight back against the federal takeover, particularly Thursday’s attempt by Attorney General Pam Bondi to install DEA chief Terry Cole as “emergency police commissioner.”
D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb issued a declaration that Bondi’s order was “unlawful” and the MPD was under no obligation to comply.
Trump made his first public comments on the day as he prepares to meet with Putin.
“HIGH STAKES!!!” he posted on Truth Social as his motorcade idled outside the White House shortly after sunrise in Washington.
He left the White House for Joint Base Andrews, the home base for Air Force One, at 7:32 a.m. ET.
