US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin’s bilateral meeting is underway. Before the discussions began at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, the leaders alongside their top officials were shown sitting against a backdrop that said “Alaska 2025” and “Pursuing Peace.” The White House press pool traveling with the President reported that Trump and Putin were seated by 11:26 a.m. local time, and the press was ushered out of the room by 11:27 a.m. local time. When Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin met in Finland for their 2018 summit, they spoke one-on-one with translators for over two hours before inviting aides to join. Initially, it seemed the upcoming Alaska summit might follow a similar format. However, as Air Force One landed in Anchorage, White House informed that the summit would start with a three-on-three meeting before a larger working lunch. Here is who is in the delegations on the both sides? US Side: Trump will be joined by Secretary of State Marco Rubio and his envoy Steve Witkoff. Rubio, previously a Russia hawk, now heads the State Department, while Witkoff has been involved in direct talks with Russian leaders for months. Russian Side: On the Russian side, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and presidential adviser Yuri Ushakov will join Putin for the three-on-three session. Both are veteran diplomats central to shaping Russian foreign policy—Lavrov has led the foreign ministry for over 20 years, and Ushakov, a key presidential adviser for more than a decade, previously served as Russia’s ambassador to the US. Trump has warned Russia of “very severe consequences” if Putin does not agree to end the war, in a summit from which Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was excluded. He indicated that, should the talks succeed, a follow-up trilateral meeting with Zelenskyy and potentially European leaders, who remain highly cautious of Putin—could be arranged.
