Trump, Putin hold face-to-face talks in US Alaska

ANCHORAGE, United States -- US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin held face-to-face talks in Anchorage, the US state of Alaska, on Friday.

The talks are taking place at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in the city of Anchorage.

Before the talks began, the two leaders arrived separately at the military base by plane, then shook hands and exchanged greetings.

Trump and Putin walked toward a blue stage bearing the large words "ALASKA 2025" and posed for photographs, without taking questions. They then shared the same limousine and rode together to the meeting venue.

The two presidents had initially been expected to meet one-on-one, followed by a broader session with their delegations, according to the White House. However, the opening of the talks revealed that US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff, as well as Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Russian presidential aide Yuri Ushakov, joined the summit for three-on-three discussions.

Following their meeting, Trump and Putin are expected to hold a joint press conference.

Kremlin spokesperson said the talks could last at least 6 to 7 hours.

This is the first face-to-face meeting between the two countries' presidents since 2021.