The visit will mark the first time Putin has travelled to the US since his appearance at the United Nations General Assembly in New York in 2015.

Before the significant encounter, Trump is hopeful that Putin will agree to a resolution regarding the Ukraine conflict, though White House officials are tempering expectations by labeling the meeting as mainly a “listening exercise”.

When is the Trump and Putin meeting?

Yury Ushakov, an aide on foreign policy to Putin, informed reporters that the leaders would convene at the Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson military site in Anchorage, Alaska, at 11:30 am on Friday (local time).

This is 5.30am (AEST) on Saturday in Australia.

The leaders are expected to first have a one-on-one discussion with the help of interpreters.

Ushakov told reporters this would be followed by a business lunch.

He said the length of the discussions “will depend on the presidents”.

“Subsequent to their discussions, Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump will hold a combined press conference to provide a summary of the negotiations,” Ushakov conveyed to the media.

Trump said he could give solo remarks if the meeting “doesn’t end well”.

What are they discussing?

The world leaders are expected to discuss the settlement of the war in Ukraine.

We can also expect Trump and Putin to talk about potential economic cooperation between Russia and the US.

However, when reporters asked if this meant new sanctions or tariffs, he simply said: “I don’t have to say.”

Trump has previously threatened Moscow with new sanctions as a punishment for the Ukraine war but has not followed through on the threats to date.

Before his journey to the US, Putin said the current US administration had made “energetic and sincere efforts” to stop the conflict in Ukraine.

Earlier this week, Trump indicated there could be some “land swapping” to end the war but this was a move both the Ukraine and Russia have rejected.

Why isn’t Zelenskyy there?

Trump hinted that if the talks were successful, his aim would be to progress towards a three-way meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy soon after the summit.

A source from Ukraine mentioned to CNN that it would be practically impossible for Zelenskyy to join the U.S. and Russian presidents in Alaska immediately following their discussions.

“Remember that every international trip out of Kyiv starts with a 12-hour train journey. Getting to Alaska would take nearly two days,” the source told the news outlet.

However, the Ukrainian source said “if a trilateral meeting is to be held, Ukraine would want Russia to agree to a ceasefire as a first step”, before any talks could happen.

They added Trump is expected to call Zelenskyy to debrief him on the outcome of the Alaska summit and discuss future steps.