US President Donald Trump is scheduled to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin at a military base in Alaska on Friday to discuss the war in Ukraine, AP reported.
The meeting is expected to take place at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, according to a White House official who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal planning.
Although prospects for what is being referred to as a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine appear uncertain in the near future, Trump warned Putin that he would impose “very severe consequences” if he did not agree to a ceasefire agreement later this week. His warning came after a call with European leaders ahead of his meeting with the Russian president.
Trump also said he hoped to use the Friday meeting to set up a “quick second meeting” with Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky, after allies urged him to push for such a summit.
The meeting venue and why it was chosen
Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage—created by merging Elmendorf Air Force Base and Army Fort Richardson in 2010—has played a key strategic role in monitoring and deterring the Soviet Union during much of the Cold War, according to AP.
The base currently has about 5,500 military and civilian personnel and has been in use as a military airfield since 1940, according to the official US Air Force website.
Over the years, the airbase has hosted numerous aircraft and overseen multiple operations involving early warning radar sites aimed at detecting Soviet military activity and potential nuclear launches.
According to the base’s official website, it has earned the motto “Top Cover for North America.” While much of the military hardware has since been deactivated, the base still hosts key aircraft squadrons, including the F-22 Raptor stealth fighter jet. Aircraft from the base continue to intercept Russian planes that regularly fly into US airspace, the report added.
Putin is subject to arrest under an International Criminal Court warrant on allegations of war crimes in Ukraine, meaning he can travel only to countries not party to the court—such as the US, UAE, and Saudi Arabia.
According to The Washington Post, the meeting site was chosen after Russia initially proposed holding it in the UAE or Saudi Arabia.
Who is attending the meeting?
Friday’s meeting will be the first one-on-one between the two leaders since the start of Trump’s second presidential term last year, during which he pledged to end the Russia–Ukraine war “in a single day.”
During Trump’s first term, he reportedly met Putin at least six times.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will not attend the meeting, despite Ukraine having been invaded by Russia in 2022.
Officials from Ukraine and Europe, who have rejected the idea of any deal made without Ukraine’s participation, expressed concern that the one-on-one meeting could produce an outcome favoring Russian objectives, AP reported.
“Setting the table for the second meeting”
“There’s a very good chance that we’re going to have a second meeting, which will be more productive than the first, because the first is I’m going to find out where we are and what we’re doing. It’s going to be a very important meeting, but it’s setting the table for the second meeting,” AP quoted Trump as saying.
He added that any major agreement could involve land swaps and that Zelensky and Putin could meet next—or he could meet with both leaders.
Meanwhile, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer will host Zelensky in London on Thursday, a Downing Street spokesperson told Bloomberg.
“At present, there is no sign whatsoever that the Russians are preparing to end the war,” Zelensky wrote on Telegram on Wednesday.
(With agency inputs)
