Politics
Trump, Putin head for high-stakes Alaska summit
- Both leaders voiced hopes of a productive meeting.
- “It is time to end the war,” says Zelensky.
- Trump calls summit “feel-out meeting” to test Putin.
Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin flew to Alaska on Friday for a high-risk summit that promises a stern test of the US president’s promise to end the bloody war in Ukraine.
Both leaders voiced hopes of a productive meeting, but while Trump warned he could judge it a failure after just a few minutes if Putin does not budge, the Kremlin said the two would speak for “a minimum” of at least six or seven hours.
For the Russian president, the meeting marks his first foray onto Western soil since he ordered the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, triggering a relentless conflict that has killed tens of thousands of people.
In recent days Russia has made significant battlefield gains that could strengthen Putin’s hand in any ceasefire negotiations.
Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One en route to Anchorage, Trump sounded a positive note. “There’s a good respect level on both sides and I think something’s going to come out of it,” he said.
Every word and gesture will be closely watched by European leaders and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who was not included and has publicly refused pressure from Trump to surrender territory seized by Russia.
“It is time to end the war, and the necessary steps must be taken by Russia. We are counting on America,” Zelensky said in a social media post.
Trump has called the summit a “feel-out meeting” to test Putin, whom he last saw in 2019, and said Friday he was not going to Alaska to “negotiate.”
“I’m here to get them at the table,” he said of the Russian and Ukrainian leaders.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Moscow would not forecast the outcome of the meeting.
“We never make any predictions ahead of time,” Lavrov told Russian state TV after he reached Alaska, wearing what appeared to be a shirt with “USSR” written across it in Cyrillic script.
Russia’s “position is clear and unambiguous,” he said.
Trump has promised to consult with European leaders and Zelensky, saying that any final agreement would come in a three-way meeting with Putin and the Ukrainian president to “divvy up” territory.
Trump’s latest shift
Trump has boasted of his relationship with Putin, blamed predecessor Joe Biden for the war and had vowed before his return to the White House in January that he would be able to bring peace within 24 hours.
But despite repeated calls to Putin, and a stunning February 28 White House meeting in which Trump publicly berated Zelensky, the Russian leader has shown no signs of compromise.
Trump has acknowledged his frustration with Putin and warned of “very severe consequences” if he does not accept a ceasefire — but also agreed to see him in Alaska.
The talks are set to begin at 11:30 am (1930 GMT) at Elmendorf Air Force Base, the largest US military installation in Alaska and a Cold War facility for surveillance of the former Soviet Union.
Adding to the historical significance, the United States bought Alaska in 1867 from Russia — a deal Moscow has cited to show the legitimacy of land swaps.
The Kremlin said it expected Putin and Trump to meet alone with interpreters before a working lunch with aides.
Neither leader is expected to step off the base into Anchorage, Alaska’s largest city, where protesters have put up signs of solidarity with Ukraine.
‘Personal victory’ for Putin?
The summit marks a sharp shift from the approach of Western European leaders and Biden, who vowed not to hold discussions with Russia on Ukraine’s future unless Kyiv was also at the table.
Putin faces an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court, leading him to curtail travel sharply since the war began.
However, the United States is not party to the Hague tribunal and Trump’s Treasury Department temporarily eased sanctions on top Russian officials to allow them to travel and use bank cards in Alaska.
Zelensky has called the Alaska summit a “personal victory” for Putin, whose forces have gone on the offensive in eastern Ukraine in recent days.
With the trip, Putin “is coming out of isolation,” Zelensky said, and he has “somehow postponed sanctions,” which Trump had vowed to impose on Russia if there was no progress.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was martyred in US and Israeli strikes, state media confirmed, as another wave of attacks hit the country on Sunday.
Several countries, global bodies and prominent groups responded to the assassination of Iran’s supreme leader, urging de-escalation.
Pakistan
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Sunday denounced the targeting of Iran’s supreme leader in joint strikes by the United States and Israel, saying such actions were a “violation of the norms of international law”.
In a post on X, PM Shehbaz said that it was an age-old convention that the heads of state or government should not be targeted.
“Pakistan also expresses concern over the violation of the norms of international law. It is an age-old convention that the heads of state/government should not be targeted.”
Russia
President Vladimir Putin described Khamenei’s killing as a “cynical murder” that violated “all standards of human morality and international law”.
“Please accept my deep condolences in connection with the murder of the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Seyed Ali Khamenei, and members of his family, committed in cynical violation of all norms of human morality and international law.”
China
China said it “strongly condemns” the United States and Israel’s assassination of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, calling again for a halt to military actions.
The assassination was “a serious violation of Iran’s sovereignty and security, a trampling on the aims and principles of the UN Charter and the basic norms of international relations”, Beijing’s foreign ministry said in a statement.
“China firmly opposes and strongly condemns this,” it added, calling for an “immediate halting of military operations”.
Malaysia
Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim on Sunday “unreservedly” condemned the killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
“I unreservedly condemn the killing of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. This act places the Middle East on the edge of grave and sustained instability. I extend my condolences to the Islamic Republic of Iran and to the Iranian people at this profoundly difficult momen,” wrote
Indonesia’s Ulema Muslim Clerical Council
“The Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) expressed its deepest condolences for the death of Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, as a result of the Israeli-American attack on February 28.
“The United States, which is playing a central role in managing the Palestinian conflict through the BoP (Board of Peace), faces a major question: is this strategy truly aimed at a just peace, or is it actually strengthening an unequal security architecture and burying Palestinian independence? Therefore, the MUI urges the Indonesian government to revoke its membership from the BoP.”
North Korea
North Korea condemned the US and Israeli strikes as an “illegal act of aggression”.
The attacks “constitute a thoroughly illegal act of aggression and the most vile form of violation of sovereignty in their nature”, a Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson said, according to state media.
Iranian president
“The martyrdom of the Supreme Leader at the hands of Israel and the criminal America was a great disaster for our country… America and Israel should know that it will bring them nothing but embarrassment.”
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) on Sunday claimed it had launched ballistic missile strikes targeting a US aircraft carrier, identifying the vessel as the USS Abraham Lincoln, as part of what it called “Operation True Promise 4.”
In a statement, the IRGC’s public relations office said four ballistic missiles were fired at the carrier, adding that Iran’s military campaign had entered a “new phase.” The group warned that both land and sea would become the “burial place” for what it described as aggressors.
Multiple Waves of Strikes Announced
Earlier, the IRGC said it had launched the seventh and eighth waves of strikes under the same operation, in response to what it termed ongoing aggression by the United States and Israel.
Iran claimed it had carried out precision strikes on military targets in Israeli territory, including areas near Tel Aviv and Haifa. It also alleged that Israeli officials had taken shelter due to heightened security concerns.
Targets Across the Gulf
The IRGC further stated that it had targeted US-operated facilities in West Asia, including the US Fifth Fleet base in Bahrain, as well as installations in Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.
There has been no immediate confirmation from US or Israeli officials regarding the reported missile strikes or the extent of any damage.
Rising Regional Tensions
The developments mark a sharp escalation in regional tensions following reported military exchanges between Iran, Israel and US forces over the weekend.
Independent verification of the claims remains pending, and international observers have urged restraint amid fears of a broader conflict across the Middle East.
A number of Iranian senior leaders, including Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, have embraced martyrdom in the “unprovoked and unwarranted” airstrikes by Israel and the United States.
As crowds gathered in Tehran, explosions rang out, and the Israeli military announced that it was again striking targets in the heart of the city — as more blasts were heard in Jerusalem, Riyadh, Dubai, Doha and Manama.
Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian declared Khamenei’s assassination a “declaration of war against Muslims” and warned: “Iran considers it its legitimate duty and right to avenge the perpetrators and masterminds of this historic crime.”
Iranian state media have confirmed the killing of several senior figures:
1. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, supreme leader of Iran
2. Ali Shamkhani, representative of the Supreme Leader in the Supreme Defence Council
3. General Abdolrahim Mousavi, Iran’s Armed Forces chief of staff
4. Major General Mohammad Pakpour, commander-in-chief of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC)
5. Aziz Nasirzadeh, Minister of Defence
6. Gholamreza Rezaian, police intelligence chief of Iran
Separately, the daughter, son-in-law, and granddaughter of Ali Khamenei also embraced martyrdom in the US and Israeli airstrikes.
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