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Anchorage, Aug 15 – US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin will meet Friday on an American military base in Alaska, their first face-to-face in six years, aiming for a breakthrough in Ukraine’s war.

Trump, who campaigned on ending the conflict, hopes his personal rapport with Putin will succeed where others failed. He has set the odds at “25%” for success. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has been left out of the talks, warning that any agreement without Kyiv’s participation will be meaningless.

The meeting comes a week after Trump’s deadline for Russia to accept a ceasefire or face harsh sanctions. While Moscow and Kyiv remain far apart, Trump has hinted at secondary tariffs on India for buying Russian oil, signalling he may act against countries doing business with Russia. The summit announcement effectively paused the sanctions countdown, giving both sides breathing room.

Security is tight, with the session confined to a nearby base and expected to last only a few hours. Anchorage, meanwhile, remains largely unchanged apart from an influx of foreign journalists mingling with summer tourists.

Trump’s tone in the lead-up has shifted between optimism, caution and threats. He warned of “very severe consequences” if Putin refuses to end the war, a stance hardened after a call with European leaders including Zelensky. Yet, Kyiv was unsettled when Trump floated the idea of territorial swaps, and the White House suggested he might simply “listen” during the meeting.

Moscow has stayed mostly silent, repeating its firm demands: full control over occupied Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia, Ukrainian demilitarisation, and a guarantee Kyiv will not join NATO.

Trump believes his business instincts and history of cordial relations with Putin could help strike a deal. The outcome will weigh heavily on his record since returning to the presidency, with his base expecting him to keep his promise to end the war and reduce US involvement in costly overseas conflicts.

For Trump, the Alaska meeting is both a high-stakes diplomatic test and a political gamble. As he put it, he may know “in the first two minutes” whether peace is possible.

People’s News Monitoring Service