
New details of the Trump-Putin summit in Alaska suggest the Kremlin is aiming to move beyond talks on a "peace deal" in Ukraine and is seeking a comprehensive reset of US-Russia relations.
The meeting will start at 11:30 a.m. local time in Alaska, which is 8:30 p.m. BST and 9:30 p.m. CEST.
Yuri Ushakov, the Kremlin's foreign policy adviser and former Russian ambassador to the US, informed the media that the two presidents will have a "face-to-face meeting" with interpreters, but will also hold a "broader meeting" with delegations and a working breakfast.
Ushakov said Ukraine will be the "central topic" of the conversation, but the pair will also discuss trade and economic cooperation.
The Russian delegation will include Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Defense Minister Andrey Belousov, Finance Minister Anton Siluanov, the head of the Russian sovereign wealth fund Kirill Dmitriev and Ushakov himself, he said.
He added that the two leaders are also expected to hold a joint press conference at the end of the summit, which is expected to be a very, very important moment.
The two sides have met several times since Donald Trump returned to the White House in January, with bilateral talks led by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Riyadh. This broader agenda appears to be back on the table, with Russia keen to highlight the benefits of joint trade opportunities.
Russia has previously indicated it wants to cooperate with the US in several areas. These include trade, minerals, oil and the Arctic. In exchange for deals with major US oil companies, it is likely to seek the lifting of sanctions on key Russian businesses and oligarchs.
Any easing of US sanctions on Russia by Trump would worry Ukraine and its European allies. They would also be concerned about a joint Trump-Vladimir Putin press conference. At their infamous last appearance together in Helsinki in 2018, Trump said Russia had not interfered in the 2016 US presidential election — which it had.
An interesting figure in the Russian delegation is Kirill Dmitriev, an investment banker and head of Russia’s sovereign wealth fund. Dmitriev — a fluent English speaker — has accompanied Steve Witkoff, Trump’s special envoy, on several of his trips to Moscow. Dmitriev is Witkoff’s “whisperer” to the Kremlin. His job is to convince the White House that Russia is serious about “peace” in Ukraine and that Volodymyr Zelenskyy is an obstacle to that.