Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin are set to meet face-to-face in Alaska on Friday, with the U.S. president hoping to push forward a ceasefire deal in Ukraine. Though, in a last-minute twist, Putin has dangled the possibility of a new nuclear deal.
This will be the first in-person meeting between the Russian and U.S. presidents since Trump’s return to the White House.
Reuters cited the White House’s official schedule, which claimed the high-stakes talks will take place at 11 a.m. local time (1900 GMT) at a Cold War-era air force base in Anchorage. Trump is expected to depart the White House at 6:45 a.m. EDT (1045 GMT) on Friday and will leave Alaska at 5:45 p.m. local time, returning to Washington early Saturday morning.
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Trump-Putin talks could shape Ukraine’s future?
The visit follows a background of apprehension in Kyiv and Europe, with allies fearing that Trump could undermine Ukraine’s stand. The POTUS, who earlier vowed to wrap the war in 24 hours, acknowledged on Thursday that the three-and-a-half-year war had become a harder nut to crack than he had imagined.
Trump has suggested that if Friday’s talks go well, he would like to arrange a follow-up summit involving Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, who has not been invited to Alaska.
Even those concerns have been slightly alleviated with a Wednesday conference call in which Trump is stated to have assured allies that Ukraine has to be a part of any negotiation regarding land surrender. Zelenskiy stated that Trump also agreed to the concept of security guarantees in a post-conflict settlement, but Trump has not made any comment.
For Putin, whose war economy is feeling the pinch of Western sanctions. On Thursday, the Kremlin leader hinted at another bargaining chip: a fresh nuclear arms control agreement to replace the last existing pact, set to expire in February.
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“Apparently, some terms will be agreed upon tomorrow (Friday) because Trump cannot be refused, and we are not in a position to refuse (due to sanctions pressure),” a source close to the Kremlin told Reuters.
