Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin have begun face-to-face talks in Alaska for a summit as the US president pushes to end the war in Ukraine
Aviation enthusiasts have compared Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin’s planes as the pair landed in Alaska on Friday for a high-stakes summit.
Putin disembarked from his plane at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, shortly after Trump arrived in Air Force One. Trump applauded as Putin approached a red carpet to greet him.
Putin’s customized Ilyushin Il-96 is the main aircraft in the Russian presidential fleet. The plane is emblazoned with the word “,” meaning “Russia,” in bold red writing. It derives from the Cyrillic alphabet.
Like Putin’s plane, Trumps Boeing 747 is a four-engine, wide-body jet, CNN reported. The Russian plane is thought to be a newer design.
The pair shook hands before heading into an hours-long meeting as Trump pushes for Putin to reach a deal to end the three-year war in Ukraine.
Military planes including B-2s and F-22s flew overhead.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio and special envoy Steve Witkoff were set to join Trump for the meeting, while Putin was joined by Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and foreign affairs adviser Yuri Ushakov.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky Zelensky and European leaders were excluded from the summit.
Ahead of the meeting, Trump said that he would discuss demands from Moscow for Ukraine to cede territory as part of a deal to end the war.
Ive got to let Ukraine make that decision. And I think theyll make a proper decision, Trump said.
Trump said theres a possibility of the US offering Ukraine security guarantees alongside European powers, but not in the form of NATO.
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