Putin Ignores Reporters’ Questions As Trump Warmly Greets Him In Alaska
President Trump and Russia’s Vladimir Putin are currently meeting in Anchorage, Alaska — the first meeting between the two nations’ leaders since Putin’s 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine. On the flight over, Trump told reporters that his goal for Friday’s talks was to secure a “ceasefire rapidly.”
Trump greeted Putin on a red carpet rolled out on the tarmac at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson with a handshake, a B-2 bomber flyover, and a ride in the presidential limousine (without an interpreter).
WHO IS IN/OUT
Notably absent was Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. The warm welcome Trump gave Putin stood in stark contrast to Zelensky’s visit to the White House in March.
Critics argue that inviting Putin to the U.S. legitimizes his war crimes against Ukraine. Putin faces a March 2023 International Criminal Court arrest warrant for war crimes involving Ukrainian children being forcibly taken to Russia.
It’s also the first time the American president has hosted the Russian leader for private talks inside the U.S. since 2007.
The room where it happens: White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt announced shortly before the two leaders’ planes landed that they would not meet one-on-one. Instead, they were joined by senior officials, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio and special envoy Steve Witkoff.
The words “Pursuing Peace” were behind the leaders and their teams ahead of talks.
Bottom line: Regardless of what either leader intends for an outcome, the meeting ends Putin’s diplomatic isolation.
“Instead of getting hit with sanctions, Putin got a summit,” Ryhor Nizhnikau, a Russia expert at the Finnish Institute of International Affairs, told The New York Times. “This is a tremendous victory for Putin no matter what the result of the summit.”
Like any major political spectacle, the day produced its share of meme-worthy moments.
WHAT’S NEXT
The meeting could last six to seven hours, the Kremlin said. It’s still going on as we send out this newsletter. Trump and Putin are expected to hold a press briefing this evening. Watch above ⬆️ on the Mo News livestream.
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