US President Donald Trump has altered plans for his highly anticipated meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska, with the White House confirming on Friday that the two leaders will no longer meet alone.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters aboard Air Force One that instead of the previously planned one-on-one session, Trump will be joined by Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Special Envoy Steve Witkoff. The meeting will then expand over lunch to include other senior officials.

The announcement came as Trump arrived at a military base in Anchorage for what has been billed as a historic summit aimed at pressing for an end to Russia’s war in Ukraine.

Putin’s trip marks his first visit to Western soil since the start of the Ukraine war in February 2022, which triggered the most serious standoff between Moscow and the West in decades.

The summit is expected to cover a wide range of issues, with Ukraine at the top of the agenda. The talks will be closely watched for signs of potential breakthroughs or shifts in US-Russia relations.

Trump says Putin ready for Ukraine deal

Trump has claimed he believes Vladimir Putin is prepared to negotiate an end to the war in Ukraine, as the two leaders prepare to meet in Alaska on Friday. But his suggestion that Putin and Volodymyr Zelensky could “divvy things up” may unsettle Kiev.

The US president estimated there was a 75% chance the Alaska talks would succeed, adding that the pressure of economic sanctions may have made the Russian leader more open to a settlement.

Trump stressed he would not allow Putin to gain the upper hand, telling reporters, “I am president, and he’s not going to mess around with me. I’ll know within the first two minutes, three minutes, four minutes or five minutes … whether or not we’re going to have a good meeting or a bad meeting. And if it’s a bad meeting, it’ll end very quickly, and if it’s a good meeting, we’re going to end up getting peace in the pretty near future.”

Zelensky faces precarious political predicament

Zelensky may face a difficult decision if Putin refuses Kiev’s demand for a full 30-day ceasefire and offers only a partial halt in hostilities, particularly if Trump still wishes to proceed with a three-way meeting.

The Ukrainian leader spent Thursday in London, discussing Wednesday’s video call with European leaders and Trump with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer. European officials were broadly reassured by the conversation, but remain wary of Trump’s unpredictability and tendency to act on instinct rather than follow a script.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said shifting battlefield conditions could complicate any peace effort. “To achieve a peace, I think we all recognise that there’ll have to be some conversation about security guarantees,” he said.

Trump has previously rejected offering such guarantees, but Rubio said European-led assurances might be possible. He added that Trump had spoken to Putin by phone four times and “felt it was important to now speak to him in person and look him in the eye and figure out what was possible and what isn’t.”