The US president, Donald Trumpand his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putinthey gave themselves a handshake And they smiled at an Alaska Air Base just before starting a summit that could be decisive for the future of Ukraine.
Both arrived in their presidential airplanes and walked under a gray sky to greet themselves on the track, before advancing together on the red carpet to receive a greeting from the honor guard.
While the combat planes flew over, a reporter shouted to Putin: “Will you stop killing civilians?” None responded.
Then both rose together to the US presidential limousine.
Minutes later the summit began.
“In search of peace”
The journalists were driven outside the meeting room shortly after Trump, Putin and his advisors occupied their seats with a blue backdrop in which he read “in search of peace.” They did not make statements to the press.
It is the first time that Putin Pisa Western soil after the beginning of the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, a war that has caused the death of tens of thousands of people and in which Russia gains ground. He currently controls approximately a fifth of Ukraine.
It was planned that both leaders spoke alone, by mediation only of interpreters, according to Kremlin.
Finally Trump will be accompanied by his head of diplomacy, Marco Rubio, and the special envoy Steve Witkoff, said White House spokeswoman, Karoline Leavitt, to journalists aboard the Air Force One.
Putin attends Foreign Minister Serguéi Lavrov and counselor Yuri Ushakov.
On board the Air Force One Trump, he emphasized the mutual “respect” between him and Putin. “We understand each other well,” he said.
However, in recent days the US president has shown defensive and warned that the meeting could end in a matter of minutes if Putin does not yield.
“I am president, and he is not going to play with me,” he said Thursday.
“If it is a bad meeting, it will end very fast, and if it is a good one, we will end up achieving peace in a fairly close future,” said the US president, who estimates that the summit has a “25%” of probabilities to fail.
European leaders are pending
For the Ukrainian president, Volodimir Zelenski, is another day of tension. Until now, Trump’s pressure has been publicly rejected to give territory.
“It’s time to end war, and the necessary steps should be given by Russia. We have the United States,” Zelenski wrote on social networks this Friday.
Upon arrival in Alaska, the head of Russian diplomacy refused to make forecasts. “We never make early assumptions,” he said dressed in a shirt that wears the word “USSR” written in Russian.
Trump has promised to quickly consult European leaders and Zelenski.
According to him, to reach a final agreement, a tripartite meeting with Zelenski is needed and the territory is distributed.
Before leaving Alaska, Trump spoke on the phone with the president of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko, a near Putin ally that allowed the Russian army to use its territory to attack Ukraine.
Helm
Trump has expressed his admiration for Putin in the past. A meeting with him in 2018 during his first term (2017-2021) earned him a rain of reproaches for, according to his critics, to have been intimidated.
Before returning to the White House in January, Trump boasted in good relationship with Putin, blamed his Democratic predecessor Joe Biden of the war in Ukraine and promised to achieve peace in 24 hours.
But despite telephone calls to Putin and a public anger with Zelenski in February at the White House, the Kremlin head is stubborn.
Trump has acknowledged feeling frustrated with Putin and has warned of “very serious consequences” if he does not accept the fire.
Alaska’s choice is not accidental
To get to Alaska, Putin, the object of an arrest warrant of the International Criminal Court, from which the United States is not a member, it just has to cross the Bering Strait.
Besides, Alaska It is a territory with Russian past since it was ceded by Russia to the United States in the 19th century.
Moscow has cited this agreement to demonstrate the legitimacy of territories exchanges.
In Anchorage, the largest city in Alaska, protesters have placed solidarity posters with Ukraine.
