Here's who Trump and Putin are bringing to the "HIGH STAKES" standoff in Alaska
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.

President Trump boards Air Force One at Joint Base Andrews on Aug. 15. Photo: Andrew Harnik/Getty Images
President Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin aren't heading to Alaska alone.
The big picture: Trump's entourage for the bilateral meeting features some of his closest allies as he looks to broker a potential ceasefire with Putin, who is bringing a small retinue of his own.
- Putin enters the meeting with a long-eyed view at establishing superpower relations with the United States.
- Despite the entourages, the meeting boils down to Putin and Trump speaking with translators. Many see it as a chance for them to reestablish their frayed relationship.
- Trump has repeatedly said he wants to leave this meeting with a ceasefire deal in Ukraine. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was not invited to attend the meeting.
Driving the news: Trump departed Joint Base Andrews Friday morning for Anchorage, Alaska, where he is scheduled to meet with Putin at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson.
- Trump teased the upcoming meeting as a "high stakes" affair. On Thursday, he said he'd know within minutes if Putin was interested in working together. They're expected to be joined by translators.
- The two leaders are expected to hold a joint press conference after they meet.
Inside the room: Per the White House, officials on Air Force One with Trump include:
- Secretary of State Marco Rubio
- Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent
- Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick
- CIA Director John Ratcliffe
- White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt
- Susie Wiles, White House chief of staff
- White House special envoy Steve Witkoff
- Monica Crowley, chief of protocol
- James Blair, White House deputy chief of staff
- Beau Harrison, deputy chief of staff for operations
- Nick Luna, director of Oval Office operations
- Dan Scavino, White House deputy chief of staff
- Steven Cheung, White House communications director
- Robert Gabriel, deputy national security adviser
- Will Scharf, White House staff secretary
- Ross Worthington, White House director of speechwriting
- Bret Baier of Fox News was also on board the flight, as he is scheduled to interview the president, according to the White House press pool.
Zoom in: The White House's list does not include Vice President JD Vance — who is vacationing in the U.K. — or Ukraine envoy Keith Kellogg.
- Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and Chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine will also attend, the Defense Department said Friday.
Yes, but: Putin won't be alone, either. According to NBC News, the Kremlin delegation includes:
- Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov
- Defense Minister Andrei Belousov
- Finance Minister Anton Siluanov
- Russian Direct Investment Fund head Kirill Dmitriev
The intrigue: Lavrov was spotted by multiple outlets wearing a shirt with "USSR" in Russian on it.
- "Ambush. Our delegation is outnumbered," Dmitriev wrote on X.
What's next: The meeting begins at 11am local time in Anchorage, or 3pm ET. Trump is scheduled to depart Alaska at 5:45pm local time.
The bottom line: Trump and Putin aren't taking this meeting lightly based on their high-powered delegations. But what happens in the room is anyone's guess.
