President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin be expected to celebrate his expected summit in an American military base in Anchorage, Alaska, on Friday, according to a White House official.
The meeting in the Joint base Elmendorf-Richardson will be the first during Trump’s second mandate, since Trump seeks to end the Russian war in Ukraine.
CNN first reported the location of the meeting, which the Russians have promoted for its historical importance: the United States bought the territory of the Russian Empire 158 years ago.
The Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, described the next summit on Tuesday as a “felt meeting”, saying that “it was not a concession” for Putin. He added: “We will know very early in that meeting if this has any chance of success or not.”
Trump said Monday that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy “was not part of that” when asked if Zelenskyy had been invited.
“I would say that I could go, but it has gone to many meetings. You know, it has been there for 3 and a half years, nothing happened,” Trump said.
Trump, Zelenskyy, Vice President JD Vance and European leaders are scheduled to call practically Wednesday, according to a European official with direct knowledge of meetings.
Zelenskyy and Ukrainian officials have repeatedly said that they will not lose territory that Russia annexed illegally.
Trump said last week that Ukraine and Russia would probably be “exchanging” parts of the territory as part of an agreement to end the war.
“It is really not easy. It is very complicated,” Trump said at that time.
Trump repeatedly affirmed in the campaign that the war would end within the first 24 hours of his second term. In a presidential debate in September, he even said he could resolve the conflict “before becoming president.”
After taking office, Trump said the timeline was “an exaggeration.”
