Donald Trump welcomed his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, to the US on Friday for talks aimed at ending the war in Ukraine.
The US and Russian presidents exchanged a warm greeting on the red carpet on the runway of an American airbase in Anchorage, Alaska.
Despite the friendliness on show, the day wrapped up earlier than scheduled and ended without any sign of a significant breakthrough or ceasefire agreement – although Trump insisted the two sides had made “some great progress”.
It was Putin’s first visit to the US since 2015, when he met President Barack Obama, Trump’s predecessor, on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York.
The pair appeared keen to show their friendly relationship, laughing as they walked down the red carpet lined on both sides by US fighter jets, before briefly taking to a stage for another handshake in front of the gathered photographers.
At one point, they looked to the sky as four F-22 fighter jets and a B-2 stealth bomber performed a flyover of the Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson.
Reporters shouted questions as the two leaders posed for photographs. Putin gave no response as he was asked “When will you stop killing civilians?” and “Why should Trump trust your words?”
It had been expected that Trump and Putin would meet one-on-one as part of the talks but shortly before they landed, officials said the meeting had been expanded to include advisers.
Still, the pair did have some time alone, including when Putin joined the US president in his armoured car – known as The Beast – to make the short journey from the runway to the building on the base where the talks were held.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Special Envoy Steve Witkoff were alongside Trump for the discussions, while Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Foreign Policy Adviser Yuri Ushakov joined Putin. Each side also had its own translator.
Reporters were allowed into the room before the talks began and tried to ask questions without much success. At one point, Putin shouted a response to someone but it was unclear what he said.
Both sides were expected to have further discussions over lunch with their larger assembled teams, but journalists were told to gather for a news conference after almost three hours of the main talks, around an hour earlier than had been expected.
Trump let his Russian counterpart talk first. Putin said it was time for the US and Russia to move from confrontation to dialogue and called the meeting “long overdue”.
Trump then spoke of his “fantastic relationship” with Putin and described the meeting as “extremely productive” but neither leader revealed the details of what had been discussed.
One of the most notable moments came right at the end, when Trump said he would probably see Putin again “very soon”, to which the Russian responded in English: “Next time in Moscow.”
After a final handshake, the pair left without taking any questions.
Putin boarded his plane and left to return to Russia shortly after their statements to the press, around five hours after he had landed in Alaska.
Before heading back to Washington DC, Trump sat down for an interview with Fox News in which he gave the meeting “10 out of 10” and said they were “pretty close to a deal” on Ukraine.
He waved as he boarded Air Force One and began the journey back to the White House after just six hours on the ground in Alaska.
Photographs
Drew Angerer/AFP, Kremlin Press Office, Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP, Andrew Harnik/Getty Images, Fatih Aktas/Anadolu, Kevin Lamarque/Reuters, Jeenah Moon/Reuters, Al Drago/Bloomberg.
