President Donald Trump and Russia's President Vladimir Putin shake hands during a meeting on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Hamburg, Germany, on July 7, 2017. It was their first in-person meeting as heads of state. (Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images)
TRUMP TO HOLD HISTORIC SUMMIT WITH PUTIN IN ALASKA SEEKING AN END TO RUSSIA–UKRAINE WAR
Trump later told supporters at a rally in Ohio that "It is always a great honor to be so nicely complimented by a man so highly respected within his own country and beyond."
"I have always felt that Russia and the United States should be able to work well with each other towards defeating terrorism and restoring world peace, not to mention trade and all of the other benefits derived from mutual respect," Trump added, according to The Hill.
Trump and Putin held their first in-person meeting on July 7, 2017, at the G20 Summit in Hamburg, Germany.
The sit-down lasted for more than two hours, during which Trump "pressed Russia’s Vladimir Putin on U.S. election meddling while also making headway on the Syria crisis," according to a Fox News Digital report at the time.
Then-Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said Trump and Putin "connected very quickly" and had "positive chemistry."
Trump and Putin were captured on camera shaking hands months later during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Da Nang, Vietnam on Nov. 10, 2017.
President Donald Trump is shown meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the first day of the G20 summit in Osaka, Japan on June 28, 2019. (Kremlin Press Office / Handout/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)
Trump also told his counterpart not to "meddle" in the 2020 elections when pressed by a reporter, Fox News Digital wrote at the time.
Trump, who was seated next to Putin, was asked by a reporter if he would tell "the Russian president to not meddle in the election." Trump, without looking at Putin, responded, "Of course I will. Don't meddle in the election, president. Don't meddle in the election."
Trump and Putin held numerous phone calls this year in the lead-up to Friday’s meeting in Alaska.
Calls took place in February, March, May and June.
VLADIMIR PUTIN TO RETURN TO US FOR THE FIRST TIME IN A DECADE
Trump said after his call in May that "Russia and Ukraine will immediately start negotiations toward a Ceasefire and, more importantly, an END to the War."
Trump and Putin are meeting Friday in Anchorage, Alaska, for the first time in years.
President Donald Trump boards Air Force One as he departs for Alaska to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin to negotiate for an end to the war in Ukraine, from Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, on Friday, Aug. 15, 2025. (Reuters/Kevin Lamarque)
The high-stakes meeting is the first U.S.-Russia summit since June 2021, which was under former President Joe Biden’s administration. That summit came just eight months before Putin invaded Ukraine.
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Trump has described the talks as a "feel-out meeting," and has made clear that his top priority will be to determine whether a ceasefire in Ukraine is possible. Trump predicted earlier this week that he would be able to make that determination within the first "two minutes."
Fox News’ Brooke Singman and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
Greg Norman is a reporter at Fox News Digital.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/from-admiration-alaska-timeline-trump-putins-high-stakes-encounters