A MARTÍNEZ, HOST:
Now we have a look at how talks are being perceived in Moscow and from Kyiv. Ukrainians are concerned that not being included in the summit will force the country to make concessions.
MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:
And although Russian President Vladimir Putin was once an international pariah because of the war, the Kremlin is portraying this summit as an opportunity for economic cooperation with the U.S.
MARTÍNEZ: We'll be talking to our reporters who are covering this event, starting with Charles Maynes, who joins us now on the line from Moscow. Charles, all right, what's the latest from Russia?
CHARLES MAYNES, BYLINE: Yeah, good morning. You know, Vladimir Putin is on his way to Alaska. He's currently out in Russia's Far East in Magadan. The Kremlin says he'll visit a memorial in Fairbanks that pays tribute to U.S.-Soviet cooperation during World War II before the summit, no doubt tapping into symbolism from the past. And time is something to pay attention to today due to a quirk of the international dateline. In other words, to time zones. It's already Friday evening in Russia's Far East, but when Putin leaves Russia and heads across the Bering Strait and into the U.S., it will be Friday morning in Alaska. So a bit of time travel. A nice trick if you can pull it off.
MARTÍNEZ: Yes, it does. Now, let's turn to the summit itself. What do we know about Vladimir Putin's approach to the talks?
MAYNES: Well, you know, keep in mind that just a week ago, Putin faced this Trump ultimatum to stop the war by August 8 or face massive new sanctions and tariffs on Russian energy exports. Well, fast-forward, he's about to have a summit meeting with an American president and on U.S. soil, no less. Now, before Putin left Moscow, he convened his key adviser to discuss the summit, and he had this message for Trump as well.
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PRESIDENT VLADIMIR PUTIN: (Speaking Russian).
MAYNES: So here, Putin says he's grateful to Trump and his administration for their energetic and sincere efforts to end the conflict in Ukraine. And he suggested that the Alaska talks might also focus on strategic security. In other words, nuclear arms control.
MARTÍNEZ: And what should we make of that?
MAYNES: Well, you know, progress on arms control is a good thing, particularly given the looming end of the New START treaty. This is the last major arms control deal between the U.S. and Russia, which expires in early 2026. You know, but this gesture, it came after Trump resurfaced economic threats on Russia if this Alaska summit doesn't make progress on Ukraine. So it seems to be Russia tempting Trump with agreements beyond the Ukraine issue. A nuclear deal would seem to appeal to Trump's desire to be seen as a global peacemaker. And for Russia, you know, it certainly gives the Alaska summit a Cold War tableau, the superpowers back at the negotiating table for nuclear issues. Again, Putin traveling back in time.
MARTÍNEZ: Yeah. Now, are there any other areas where we might see deals getting made?
MAYNES: Well, the Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov says this huge untapped potential of U.S.-Russian economic cooperation is also on the docket. So Russia clearly appealing to the businessmen and Trump. Russian officials have suggested that might include mineral deals, in particular, joint investments in the Arctic. You know, we'll have to see, but, you know, it would make sense to have some agreed-upon deliverables, you know, given the more unpredictable nature of the Ukraine issue.
MARTÍNEZ: So speaking of Ukraine, let's go back to Ukraine for a second. Any reason to think progress can be made?
MAYNES: Well, no one thinks this war will end tomorrow. That said, Moscow may not want Trump to leave entirely empty-handed from Anchorage. One area where we may see some deal-making is a partial ceasefire on air attacks. This would allow Trump to legitimately say, look, this saves lives from Russian bombs, which it would. But it would also neutralize a key aspect of Ukraine's ability to punch back, namely with drones that can attack deep inside Russia, which again, they did this morning.
MARTÍNEZ: All right, that's NPR's Charles Maynes in Moscow. Thank you very much, Charles.
MAYNES: Thank you. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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