Trump to Meet Putin in Alaska Next Friday

President Trump said his summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin will take place next Friday in Alaska.

This will be their first meeting since 2019, and comes after Trump had grown increasingly frustrated over Putin's unwillingness to agree to a ceasefire or negotiate earnestly toward a peace deal with Ukraine.

Trump made the announcement Friday evening on Truth Social.

Ukrainian and European officials are nervous that Putin will seek Trump's approval for peace terms that they find unacceptable, and put the onus back on Ukraine to make peace.

Trump's ceasefire-or-sanctions deadline for Putin expired on Friday, but those penalties appear to be on hold for now.

During his meeting with Trump's envoy Steve Witkoff on Wednesday, Putin raised the possibility of a peace deal that locks in Russia's wartime gains.

Specifically, Russia would claim two territories of Ukraine (Donetsk and Luhansk) outright, and freeze its current positions in two more (Zaporizhia and Kherson).

Ukrainian officials have dismissed similar ideas in the past. They also have demands of their own, including around security guarantees to ensure Russia can't simply restart the war.

Even if Putin comes to the meeting with Trump with genuine proposals, the parties to the conflict remain a long way apart.

Meanwhile, senior officials from the U.S., Ukraine and several European countries will meet on Saturday in the U.K. to try and reach a common position ahead of the planned meeting between Trump and Putin, three sources with knowledge of the meeting said.