Historic Alaska meeting between Putin and Trump underway
The U.S.-Russian summit has opened at Elmendorf Richardson military base in Anchorage, Kazinform News Agency correspondent reports.
The meeting between President Vladimir Putin and President Donald Trump was changed from a planned one-on-one to a three-on-three format.
President Trump is joined by Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Special Envoy Steve Witkoff. Representing Russia alongside President Putin are Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Presidential Aide Yuri Ushakov. Interpreters from both sides are also present.
Following a brief private conversation, the leaders will move to broader talks in the agreed format and then attend a working lunch with members of both delegations.
The Russian side will also include Minister of Defense Andrey Belousov, Minister of Finance Anton Siluanov and Russian Direct Investment Fund CEO Kirill Dmitriev.
The United States delegation will be joined by Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent, Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick and CIA Director John Ratcliffe.
A joint press conference is scheduled later in the day, where presidents Putin and Trump will present the results of the talks.
This is the first in-person meeting between the Russian and U.S. leaders since June 2021 and the first since President Trump returned to the White House in January 2025.
The choice of Alaska carries notable symbolic weight. Formerly part of the Russian Empire, the territory was sold to the United States in 1867 for approximately $7.2 million, around $156 million in today’s dollars.
It is also geographically the closest U.S. state to Russia, with the two nations separated at their nearest point by just 82 kilometers across the Bering Strait.
Earlier, Kazinform News Agency reported Presidents Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump had met in Anchorage.
