At summit with Trump, Putin avoids question on ceasefire | Video

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday arrived in Alaska for a high-stake summit with US President Donald Trump, aiming to end the Ukraine conflict that began in February 2022. Upon his arrival, Putin received a warm welcome from Trump and the two leaders were seen shaking hands at the US airbase.

Later, the two leaders headed to the location where the summit is underway. As the two leaders arrived for the meeting, a journalist asked Putin whether he would agree to a ceasefire and “stop killing civilians”, but the Russian leader gestured that he didn’t hear the question.

Take a look at the video here:

Trump and Putin’s high-level meeting is underway at a military base in Alaska. Apart from the two leaders, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, along with other officials, are also present at the meeting.

Why this meeting is crucial for Trump, Putin?

For Putin, this meeting is crucial as it would provide him an opportunity to negotiate a deal to consolidate Russia’s position in Ukraine and stop Kyiv from joining the United States-led North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). For Trump, this summit gives him a chance to showcase that he is a master dealmaker and a global peacemaker.

Before the start of the meeting, both sides expressed hopes that the summit would be successful and would help in ending the war in Ukraine that began in February 2022.

On Thursday, Trump had warned that there is a 25 per cent chance that the meeting would fail. However, he also said that a trilateral meeting between him, Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy could be held soon if the summit in Alaska succeeds. “There’s a good respect level on both sides, and I think something’s gonna come of it. I noticed he’s bringing a lot of business people from Russia, and that’s good,” said Trump.