Trump-Putin meeting begins in Alaska, raising global hopes for an end to the Ukraine war

The much-anticipated historic meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin has begun with the aim of ending the war in Ukraine. According to reports, the meeting started at 11:30 a.m. local time on Saturday (1:30 a.m. Bangladesh time, Friday night) at a neutral venue in Alaska.

The primary goal of the meeting is to bring an end to the Russia-Ukraine war, which has been ongoing for more than three and a half years. On the U.S. side, President Trump was joined by Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Special Envoy for Russia Steve Witkoff. On the Russian side, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Putin’s foreign policy adviser Yuri Ushakov were present.

Before the meeting, Air Force One carrying Trump landed in Alaska on Friday (August 15) local time. Shortly afterward, Putin’s special aircraft also arrived. The two leaders kicked off the talks with a handshake and smiles on a red carpet. This is their first face-to-face meeting since Trump’s return to the White House for his second term.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told Russian state television that the meeting could last six to seven hours. Moscow hopes it will be “productive.”

When asked what the success of the meeting depends on, Trump said, “I want to see the Ukraine war end. If there’s no ceasefire today, I will not be happy. I want the killing to stop.”

Trump has repeatedly described the Ukraine war as a “bloody crisis.” His goal is to establish himself as a messenger of global peace through a ceasefire. He also hinted that if this meeting proves successful, a trilateral meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky could be held soon.