U.S. President Donald Trump meets with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the G-20 Summit on July 7, 2017, in Hamburg, Germany. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)2025-08-11T18:06:08Z The U.S.-Russia summit in Alaska is happening where East meets West quite literally in a place familiar to both countries as a Cold War front line of missile defense, radar outposts and intelligence gathering.Whether it can lead to a deal to produce peace in Ukraine more than 3 1/2 years after Moscows invasion remains to be seen.Heres what to know about the meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump, the first summit in four years:When and where is it taking place? The summit takes place Friday at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson outside Anchorage starting about 11:30 a.m. (1930 GMT, 3:30 p.m. EDT), between Putin and Trump as well as a meeting of the delegations, said Yuri Ushakov, Putins foreign policy adviser. Its Putins first trip to the U.S. since 2015 for the U.N. General Assembly in New York. Because the U.S. isnt a member of the International Criminal Court, which in 2023 issued a warrant for Putin on war crimes accusations, its under no obligation to arrest him. This combination of photos shows Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, in Moscow on May 9, 2025, and U.S. President Donald Trump in Washington on Aug. 1. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko, Pool, Mark Schiefelbein, File) This combination of photos shows Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, in Moscow on May 9, 2025, and U.S. President Donald Trump in Washington on Aug. 1. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko, Pool, Mark Schiefelbein, File) Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More Is Zelenskyy going? Both countries confirmed a meeting between only Putin and Trump, despite initial suggestions that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy might take part. The Kremlin has long pushed back against Putin meeting Zelenskyy - at least until a peace deal is reached by both sides and is ready to be signed.Putin said last week he wasnt against meeting Zelenskyy but certain conditions need to be created and were still a long way off. That raised fears about excluding Ukraine from negotiations. Kyiv and its European allies stressed that peace cannot be achieved without Kyivs involvement. Zelenskyy was in Berlin for virtual meetings Wednesday with Trump and European leaders to try to ensure Ukraine and its allies are heard before the summit. The Ukrainian president told the group Putin is bluffing about his military might and the effectiveness of sanctions, and is trying to apply pressure ... on all sectors of the Ukrainian front to try to show that Russia is capable of occupying all of Ukraine. In reality, sanctions are hitting Russias war economy hard, Zelenskyy said.Zelenskyy also met with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer in London on Thursday. Whats Alaskas role in Russian history?It will be the first visit by a Russian leader to Alaska, even though it was part of the czarist empire until 1867, the state news agency Tass said. Municipal workers unveil the monument to Czar Alexander II in Moscow on June 7, 2005. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko, File) Municipal workers unveil the monument to Czar Alexander II in Moscow on June 7, 2005. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko, File) Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More Alaska was colonized by Russia starting from the 18th century until Czar Alexander II sold it to the United States in 1867 for $7.2 million. When it was found to contain vast resources, it was seen by Russians as a nave deal that generated remorse.After the USSRs collapse, Alaska was a subject of nostalgia and jokes for Russians. One popular song in the 1990s went: Dont play the fool, America give back our dear Alaska land. Sam Greene of Kings College London said on X the symbolism of Alaska as the site of a summit about Ukraine was horrendous as though designed to demonstrate that borders can change, land can be bought and sold. Ukrainian soldiers from air-defense unit fire at Russian drones in the Dnipropetrovsk region of Ukraine, Sunday, Aug. 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka, File) Ukrainian soldiers from air-defense unit fire at Russian drones in the Dnipropetrovsk region of Ukraine, Sunday, Aug. 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka, File) Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More Whats the agenda? Trump has appeared increasingly exasperated with Putin over Russias refusal to halt the bombardment of Ukraine. Kyiv has agreed to a ceasefire, insisting on a truce as a first step toward peace.Moscow presented ceasefire conditions that are nonstarters for Zelenskyy, such as withdrawing troops from the four regions Russia illegally annexed in 2022, halting mobilization efforts, or freezing Western arms deliveries. For a broader peace, Putin demands Kyiv cede the annexed regions, even though Russia doesnt fully control them, and Crimea, renounce a bid to join NATO, limit the size of its armed forces and recognize Russian as an official language along with Ukrainian. Zelenskyy insists any peace deals include robust security guarantees to protect Ukraine from future Russian aggression.Putin has warned Ukraine it will face tougher conditions for peace as Russian troops forge into other regions to build what he described as a buffer zone. Some observers suggested Russia could trade those recent gains for territory under Ukrainian control in the four annexed regions annexed by Moscow. Zelenskyy said Saturday that Ukrainians will not give their land to the occupier. But Trump said Monday: Therell be some land swapping going on. I know that through Russia and through conversations with everybody. To the good, for the good of Ukraine. Good stuff, not bad stuff. Also, some bad stuff for both. Russian President Vladimir Putin bids farewell to United Arab Emirates President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan following their meeting at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, Thursday, Aug. 7, 2025. (Mikhail Sinitsyn, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP) Russian President Vladimir Putin bids farewell to United Arab Emirates President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan following their meeting at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, Thursday, Aug. 7, 2025. (Mikhail Sinitsyn, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP) Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More Zelenskyy said Tuesday that Putin wants Ukraine to withdraw from the remaining 30% of the Donetsk region it still controls as part of a ceasefire deal, a proposal the Ukrainian categorically rejected. Kyiv wont give up territory it controls, he added, saying that would be unconstitutional and would serve only as a springboard for a future Russian invasion.He said discussions led by the U.S. on ending the war have not addressed key Ukrainian demands, including security guarantees to prevent future Russian aggression and including Europe in negotiations.French President Emmanuel Macron said Wednesday that Trump was very clear in a virtual meeting with European leaders and Zelenskyy that the U.S. wants to achieve a ceasefire. Macron added that Trump had been clear that territorial issues relating to Ukraine ... will only be negotiated by the Ukrainian president.What are expectations? Trump said Wednesday there will be unspecified very severe consequences if Putin does not agree to stop the war after the summit. Putin sees a meeting with Trump as a chance to cement Russias territorial gains, keep Ukraine out of NATO and prevent it from hosting any Western troops so Moscow can gradually pull the country back into its orbit.He believes time is on his side as Ukrainian forces are struggling to stem Russian advances along the front amid swarms of Moscows missiles and drones. The meeting is a diplomatic coup for Putin, isolated since the invasion. The Kremlin sought to portray renewed U.S. contacts as two superpowers looking to resolve various global problems, with Ukraine being just one. Ukraine and its European allies are concerned a summit without Kyiv could allow Putin to get Trump on his side and force Ukraine into concessions. Any decisions that are without Ukraine are at the same time decisions against peace, Zelenskyy said. They will not bring anything. These are dead decisions. They will never work.European officials echoed that.As we work towards a sustainable and just peace, international law is clear: All temporarily occupied territories belong to Ukraine, European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said. A sustainable peace also means that aggression cannot be rewarded.NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said Sunday he believed Trump was making sure that Putin is serious, and if he is not, then it will stop there.If he is serious, then from Friday onwards, the process will continue. Ukraine getting involved, the Europeans being involved, Rutte added.Since last week, Putin spoke to Chinese leader Xi Jinping, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Brazilian President Luiz Incio Lula da Silva and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, as well as the leaders of South Africa, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Belarus and Kyrgyzstan, the Kremlin said.That suggested Putin perhaps wanted to brief Russias most important allies about a potential settlement, said pro-Kremlin analyst Sergei Markov. Putin also met with top government officials on the eve of the summit.-Associated Press writers Lorne Cook in Brussels, Michelle L. Price in Washington, Sylvie Corbet in Paris and Geir Moulson in Berlin contributed. DASHA LITVINOVA Litvinova is an Associated Press correspondent covering Russia, Belarus, Central Asia and the Caucasus. She is part of the team that covers the Russia-Ukraine war. She has covered Russia and the region for over a decade. twitter mailto