Anchorage, Alaska – U.S. President Donald Trump welcomed Russian President Vladimir Putin to the United States on Friday for talks centered on ending the war in Ukraine. The two leaders exchanged a warm greeting on a red carpet hastily rolled out at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska, where they held a series of closed-door discussions.
Despite the friendly optics, the talks wrapped up earlier than planned, concluding without any breakthrough or ceasefire agreement. Trump, however, maintained an upbeat tone, telling reporters that the discussions marked “some great progress.”
This was Putin’s first visit to the U.S. since 2015, when he met then-President Barack Obama in New York on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.
The Anchorage meeting featured moments of camaraderie, with Trump and Putin sharing laughter as they walked down the red carpet lined with U.S. fighter jets. A dramatic flyover by four F-22 Raptors and a B-2 stealth bomber punctuated the occasion, underscoring the high-stakes nature of the gathering.
The encounter ended with Trump hinting at future engagements. “I’ll probably see President Putin very soon,” he said. Putin, switching briefly to English, responded: “Next time in Moscow.”
Both leaders departed without taking questions from journalists. Putin boarded his aircraft for Moscow within hours, while Trump sat down with Fox News, rating the talks “10 out of 10” and declaring that the two sides were “pretty close to a deal” on Ukraine.
Trump then returned to Washington aboard Air Force One after just six hours on Alaskan soil, leaving behind a mix of optimism and uncertainty over the next steps in U.S.-Russia diplomacy.
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