Trump-Putin summit begins, with last minute format change

President Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska on Friday to begin Trump's most high-profile meeting since returning to office.On the scene: Trump applauded as Putin walked toward him down a red carpet laid out for his arrival. After sharing a warm handshake, both climbed into the presidential limousine — nicknamed "the Beast" — and drove together to the meeting location.No interpreters appeared to be present, so they likely conversed in English during the short journey.The intrigue: The presidents were previously expected to meet one-on-one, followed by a broader meeting with their delegations, but the White House said minutes before the start that the opening meeting would now be three-on-three, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio and White House envoy Steve Witkoff joining Trump.Putin's spokesperson said earlier Friday that the meetings would last "at least" six or seven hours. The agenda includes a working lunch with senior officials from both sides.Podiums have been set up for a joint press conference afterwards, though Trump said he'd probably do a solo press conference if the summit is a failure — a scenario he gave a 25% likelihood.The summit began just minutes after its scheduled 11am local time (3pm ET) start. The Kremlin said Putin would show up on time, forgoing his usual power move of arriving late for meetings with foreign counterparts.Why it matters: Trump has set a ceasefire in Ukraine as his goal for the summit, telling reporters on Air Force One that he's not sure whether one will be agreed but he's "not going to be happy" if it isn't. He's also promised "severe consequences" if Putin doesn't demonstrate he's serious about peace.If a ceasefire is agreed, it would be the first multi-day pause in the fighting after 3.5 years of war and the first tangible progress in Trump's fitful peace process.Trump said he also wants to convince Putin to hold a follow-up meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky — possibly while they're all still in Alaska.The other side: Putin has repeatedly rebuffed the idea of an unconditional ceasefire, and previously suggested he's only willing to meet Zelensky in the context of signing an agreement, not negotiating one. Trump said he expects to discuss issues of territorial control in Ukraine with Putin — an idea that worries Ukrainian officials — but that only Putin and Zelensky can come to any agreements. Zoom out: The Kremlin has made clear they want this to be a full superpower dialogue, covering not just Ukraine but also economic cooperation and even nuclear arms control.It's Putin's first meeting with a U.S. president since 2021 and his first time on U.S. soil since 2015. It's also a chance to repair his fraying relationship with Trump."I noticed he's bringing a lot of business people from Russia, and that's good. I like that because they want to do business, but they're not doing business until we get the war settled," Trump said before the summit kicked off.Context: The location of the summit has given the proceedings a Cold War flavor, particularly since Russia's foreign minister arrived in Anchorage in a USSR shirt.Elmendorf played a key role in U.S. monitoring of the Soviet Union following the end of World War II.Editor's note: This is a breaking news story and will be updated.

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