August 15, 2025

Hold onto your hats! In an exciting development, Presidents Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump are all set to meet in Alaska on Friday. Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov spilled the spicy details: The two leaders will dive into the "huge untapped potential" for Russia-U.S. economic ties, plus chat about how to stop the 3-1/2-year-old war in Ukraine. The meeting kicks off at 1930 GMT with just the two presidents sitting down face to face, only their translators by their side—no assistants, no distractions! Later, their teams will join for a working lunch, followed by a joint news conference to share the buzz with the world. Remember, the last summit involving a Russian leader and a U.S. president was when Putin met Joe Biden in June 2021, so this one is quite special. Trump and Putin agreed on this meeting just last week, signaling a fresh push by Trump to find peace in Ukraine's long and painful conflict. Ushakov didn’t beat around the bush: “An exchange of views is expected on further developing bilateral cooperation, including in the trade and economic sphere. I would like to note that this cooperation has huge, and unfortunately hitherto untapped, potential.” He makes it clear—the economic connection between these two huge countries is like a treasure chest waiting to be opened! Besides Putin himself, the Russian delegation includes heavyweights like Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Defence Minister Andrei Belousov, Finance Minister Anton Siluanov, and Kirill Dmitriev, the special envoy for investment and economic cooperation. This dream team will cover everything from security to money matters. Of course, Ukraine will be the headline—"obvious to everyone," Ushakov said—but the leaders also plan to tackle bigger security and international issues. With so much on the table, the Alaska summit promises to be a game-changer. Stay tuned as these two powerful leaders try to make history!

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Tags: Putin, Trump, Russia-us relations, Ukraine war, Economic ties, Alaska summit,