A warm handshake, big smiles, and a red carpet – this was the welcome for Vladimir Putin as he touched down on US soil for critical negotiations on the war in Ukraine.
There had been much build-up to the summit in Anchorage, Alaska, not least from Donald Trump himself – with the US president having threatened “severe” consequences for Russia should it not go well.
But more than two-and-a-half hours of talks resulted in just a brief news conference with little detail given away – and ultimately, no talk of a ceasefire and no deal on Ukraine reached yet.
Here is what was expected from the meeting – based on information from the White House, Mr Trump and the Kremlin beforehand – and what happened on the night.
One-on-one turned into three-on-three
It was thought this would be a one-on-one meeting between Mr Trump and Mr Putin.
Instead, the US president was joined by US secretary of state Marco Rubio and special envoy Steve Witkoff, while the Russian leader was supported by his foreign affairs advisor Yuri Ushakov and Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov.
The change seemed to indicate the White House was perhaps taking a more guarded approach than during a 2018 meeting in Helsinki, where Mr Trump and Mr Putin met privately with interpreters. The US leader then shocked the world by siding with the Russian leader over US intelligence officials on whether Russia meddled in the 2016 presidential campaign.
Rolling out the red carpet
Mr Putin was given the kind of reception typically reserved for close US allies, belying the bloodshed and the suffering in the war he started.
The two men greeted each other with a handshake and a smiling Mr Trump even applauded the Russian president as he approached him on the red carpet.
Our international affairs editor Dominic Waghorn, in Kyiv, gauged the Ukrainian reaction to the arrival – and said people were furious at the welcome extended by the Trump team.
Images of US soldiers on their knees, unfurling the red carpet at the steps of the Russian leader’s plane, went viral, he said, with social media “lit up with fury, anger, and disgust”.
He added: “There are different ways of welcoming a world leader to this type of event, and Trump has gone all out to give a huge welcome to Putin, which is sticking in the craw of Ukrainians.”
Any questions?
Plenty. But no one was really given a chance to ask.
Ahead of the talks, cameras were allowed inside for just a minute – and while this was enough time for a few journalists to shout some questions, these were ignored by the two leaders.
“President Putin, will you stop killing civilians?” one shouted. In response, Mr Putin put his hand up to his ear as if he could not hear.
In their brief media conference after the talks, Mr Putin spoke for almost nine minutes, while Trump took just three-and-a-half to say what he wanted to say.
The two men then did not stay to answer questions from reporters.
Before the event, the Kremlin said it could last between six and seven hours, but the whole visit lasted about four-and-a-half hours.
‘Severe consequences’
Ever since his inauguration in January, Mr Trump had been threatening serious consequences for Russia should a deal on Ukraine not be reached soon. Just two days after the ceremony, he took to social media to declare there could be “high levels of taxes, tariffs and sanctions” and called for an end to the “ridiculous” war.
In February, he held what he described as a “productive” call with the Russian leader, and about two weeks later he infamously berated Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during a visit to the Oval Office – this one taking place in front of the world’s media.
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In July, he started to set deadlines for an end to the war – first giving Mr Putin 50 days and later reducing this to “10 or 12 days”, before announcing the summit last week.
Yesterday, Mr Trump insisted his Russian counterpart was “not going to mess around with me”.
However, while both men insisted the talks were “productive”, it is not clear what agreements have been reached, and whether Ukraine is any closer to finding peace. The word ceasefire was not mentioned by either leader. Instead, they praised each other, with Mr Trump describing Mr Putin’s remarks as “very profound” – and there was no mention of sanctions.
A meeting with Mr Zelenskyy?
It was expected that after the talks, Mr Trump could set the table for the next meeting with the Ukrainian president.
While he said he would call Mr Zelenskyy, he made no public commitment to a meeting during the media conference.
In an interview with Fox News after the summit, he said Russia and Ukraine would set a date to discuss next steps and a potential ceasefire deal, but did not provide further details on specifics or timings.
“They’re going to set up a meeting now, between President Zelenskyy and President Putin and myself, I guess,” Mr Trump said. He also said that European nations “have to get involved a little bit” but it is “really up to President Zelenskyy to get it done”.
Putin brought his own limo – but travelled in The Beast instead
After shaking hands on the red carpet, the two leaders made their way towards their waiting vehicles.
But despite Mr Putin arriving with his “Aurus” limousine, and it being spotted on the tarmac near the planes, he got into the American presidential limousine, known as “The Beast”, to travel to the meeting location.
The Russian president was seen with a wide smile on his face, while Mr Trump appeared to be waving to the crowds.
