As Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin touched down in Alaska for the historic summit to discuss the future of Ukraine, the Russian leader was seemingly met with a show of strength by his US counterpart.
As the two leaders strutted down the red carpet, rolled out for them on the tarmac at Elmendorf Air Force Base in Anchorage, the US president surprised Putin with a military display.
While walking to the podium to they were greeted by a military flyover of a US BS B2 stealth bomber, flanked by four F-35s.
The five planes flew overhead in an arrow formation, close to the ground, resulting in a thunderous noise.
And while Trump looked impressed by the display of military might, clapping afterwards Putin shrugged off the jets and seemed nonplussed.
The pair then got into a waiting vehicle together and were seen smiling inside as they drove to a c.
The jets were used in US’s June strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities, codenamed Operation Midnight Hammer, which saw seven planes fly 36 hours straight from a US air base to the Middle eastern country.
The planes are capable of carrying both conventional and nuclear munitions and the US president previously praised the aircraft for the damage inflicted on Iran.
US President Donald Trump (right) and Russian President Vladimir Putin (left) met in Alaska for an historic summit to discuss the future of Ukraine (pictured shaking hands)
As the two leaders walked across the tarmac at Elmendorf Air Force Base in Anchorage, the US president surprised Putin with a military flyover of a US BS B2 stealth bomber and four F-35s (pictured)
Putin and trump posing on a podium shortly before they drove to a the venue of their three-hour talk – which failed to yield a peace deal
Moments before Trump’s plane touched down, the White House announced the planned one-on-one meeting between the world leaders was off the table.
Putin and Trump instead held talks with two of their top aides.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio and US Ambassador Steve Witkoff joined Trump during his formal discussions with Putin.
On his way to Anchorage, Trump told reporters his goal was to ‘stop the killing,’ but that he didn’t know how long it would take to get a ceasefire deal over the line.
‘I don’t know if it’s going to be today,’ Trump admitted on Air Force One. ‘But I’m not going to be happy if it’s not today. Everyone said it can’t be today – but I want the killing to stop.’
Days ago, Trump warned Putin ‘there will be very severe consequences’ if Russia does not agree to stop the war in Ukraine after their meeting.
However Trump failed to secure a ceasefire agreement or peace deal in the ‘extremely productive meeting’ with the Russian president.
Trump looked impressed by the display of military might, featuring planes used in the June strike on Iran but Putin shrugged off the jets (pictured in Elmendorf Air Force Base)
Trump failed to secure a ceasefire agreement or peace deal in the ‘extremely productive meeting’ with the Russian president (the pair pictured ahead of their three-hour meeting)
The US leader told reporters: ‘We didn’t get there,’ the usually ebullient president acknowledged, ‘but we have a very good chance of getting there.’
Following the three-hour meeting, Trump revealed that there were still several issues to iron out.
He said: ‘I’m going to start making a few phone calls and tell them what happened. But we had an extremely productive meeting, and many points were agreed to, and there are just a very few that are left.’
He added, ‘Some are not that significant. One is probably the most significant.’
Trump was set to call Zelensky and NATO leaders immediately after the meeting but details were not immediately available if that occurred.
