Amid smiles, handshakes, and an exchange of a few words, Vladimir Putin was greeted by Donald Trump on the tarmac at U.S. Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska.

Their arrival, perfectly orchestrated for Trump to land a few minutes ahead of Putin, was accompanied by a respectful military presence . . . and a massive security force from both sides.

There had also been an announcement from White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt aboard Air Force One before landing that the meeting, originally scheduled to be one-on-one between Putin and Trump alone, had been changed to a three-on-three. Putin would now be accompanied by his very experienced Foreign Minister, Sergey Lavrov, and foreign policy adviser Yuri Ushakov; and Trump would have the backing of newly-minted Secretary of State Marco Rubio and real estate mogul-cum-foreign policy expert Steve Witkoff.

I don’t know what brought about the last-minute change, but I do feel a sense of relief that Putin and Trump won’t be left to their own devices without witnesses.

Still, based solely on their respective years of relevant experience, it’s clear that Trump’s team is conspicuously outclassed.

Now I’m holding my breath until the closing press conference, though I don’t anticipate any earthshaking announcements. What I would like to see is at least a temporary ceasefire, and a concrete plan for a further meeting — this time to include Ukrainian President Zelensky, leaders of the allied European nations, and the European Union. We shall see.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
8/15/25 – 5:45 p.m. EDT