Presidents Putin and Trump, however, will not sign any documents.

On Friday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that talks in Alaska between Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump are expected to last at least six or seven hours.

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“We assume there will first be a face-to-face conversation. This will involve advisers. Then there will be negotiations with delegations, possibly in a working lunch format. After that, the presidents will take a break and then meet for a joint press conference. Altogether, it will last at least six or seven hours,” he said.

During the Alaska summit, Putin and Trump will address “complex issues” but will not sign any documents. The meeting — their first since Trump’s return to the White House and the start of Russia’s special military operation— will take place at Elmendorf-Richardson military base near Anchorage.

Hours before boarding his plane to Alaska, Putin laid flowers at a memorial in Russia’s Magadan region honoring Soviet and U.S. pilots who cooperated during World War II. Before returning to his country, the Russian president will also lay flowers at a cemetery where nine pilots and two Soviet citizens are buried. They died between 1942 and 1945 while attempting to transport U.S.-supplied aircraft.

On Friday, speaking aboard Air Force One before departing for Alaska, Trump said European leaders do not tell him what to do but stressed they will be involved in negotiations toward a truce in Ukraine.

“Europe doesn’t tell me what to do, but obviously it will be part of the process, as will Volodymyr Zelenskyy,” he said, explaining that his main goal is for Russia and Ukraine to reach an armistice that could pave the way for ending the conflict.

“I want to see a cease-fire quickly. I don’t know if it will be today, but I would like it to be today. Everyone says it can’t be today, but I’m just saying I want the killing to stop,” Trump said.

The U.S. president also repeated several times that he will not negotiate on Ukraine’s behalf: “I’m here to get them to the table,” he said.

teleSUR/ JF

Source: EFE

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