President Donald Trump rolled out the red carpet for Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska, greeting the leader warmly before they made the unusual move of departing together in the U.S. president’s limousine.
At the historic meeting to discuss the war in Ukraine, the two leaders greeted one another like old friends as they shook hands and patted each other’s backs on an actual red carpet laid out on the tarmac for the historic meeting at the Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage.
Trump, who exited Air Force One moments ahead of Putin’s deplaning, appeared excited by his Russian counterpart’s arrival, clapping as the strongman leader walked toward him.
Putin then appeared to give Trump a thumbs up.
After posing briefly for photos, in an unusual move, Putin ditched his own Aurus limousine and climbed into the president’s armored stretch vehicle, known as “The Beast.”
There were no other aides in the vehicle as Putin and Trump talked one-on-one en route to the base facility for the summit.
Given that the one-on-one summit suddenly emerged as a three-on-three — including Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff as well as Russian minister of foreign affairs Sergey Lavrov and Russian policy adviser Yury Ushakova — the car ride was the lone opportunity for the two leaders to be alone together aside from security and the driver.
Trump and Putin were seen in the back seat looking animated, laughing and smiling as they chatted.
It marks a break in protocol, particularly for adversaries. When Trump wanted North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un to ride with him in his car in 2018 in Singapore, aides persuaded the president not to extend the invitation, CNN reported.
The warm welcome was celebrated by Russian media. A Russia 24 anchor praised Trump for being “extremely friendly towards Putin,” while lauding the “historic handshake” between the pair.
The editor of Russia Today, Margarita Simonyan, posted a clip of the men shaking hands for the first time and said: “Admit it haters, you’ve been waiting for this too.”
The RT X account also criticized U.S. journalists who shouted questions at Putin about the bloodshed in Ukraine as he and Trump walked the red carpet. The Russian leader didn’t respond.
“US media sounding like they walked straight out of the Kiev School of Journalism,” a post on the RT account said.
Elsewhere, American critics of Russia blasted Trump for inviting Putin to ride in his limousine.
“The world is watching the President of the United States bend to Moscow on LIVE TV,” said the anti-Trump Call to Activism group, founded by the attorney Joseph Gallina.
“Putin and Trump together in our presidential limo. Sickening,” said author and columnist Julia Davis.
After the ride, the leaders were joined by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Special Envoy Steve Witkoff on the U.S. side, and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Putin’s foreign affairs adviser Yuri Ushakov on the Russian side.
They are due to hold a press conference after the summit.
