President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin are set to meet at a high-stakes summit in Alaska on Friday.
Their meeting comes after Trump has warned of "severe consequences" for Russia if Moscow fails to agree to a ceasefire with Ukraine. The two countries have been engaged in war for more than three years -- since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022.
MORE: Putin says Trump making 'energetic' efforts to end war as summit nears
On Thursday, Trump said he believed Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy want to make peace.
"We're going to see what happens. And, I think President Putin will make peace. I think President Zelenskyy will make peace. We'll see if they can get along and if they can, it'll be great," Trump said in the Oval Office.
Russian President Vladimir Putin giving a speech during an event to mark the 1160th anniversary of Russia's statehood in Veliky Novgorod on September 21, 2022, and Donald Trump looking on during a meeting with France's President at the Elysee Palace in Paris, on December 7, 2024.
Ilya Pitalev/SPUTNIK/POOL/AFP via Getty Images
Here's what to know about the summit and how to follow along with the latest developments.
How do I watch and follow along?
ABC News will have special coverage of the meeting and the news conference that is expected to follow it.
"World News Tonight" anchor David Muir will lead reporting on and analysis of the meeting with help from "This Week" co-anchor and chief global affairs correspondent Martha Raddatz, "This Week" co-anchor and chief Washington correspondent Jonathan Karl, chief White House correspondent Mary Bruce, chief international correspondent Ian Pannell, chief foreign correspondent James Longman, "Good Morning America" weekend co-anchor and "World News Tonight" Saturday anchor Whit Johnson, senior political correspondent Rachel Scott and contributors Steve Ganyard and Mark Updegrove.
Coverage will air on ABC and stream on 24/7 streaming news channel ABC News Live.
ABC News Live will have continuous coverage throughout the day of the summit as well. Anchors Kyra Phillips and Kayna Whitworth will kick off special coverage at 4 p.m. EDT with breaking news updates from the team on the ground in Alaska. ABC News Live is available on Disney+, Hulu, The Roku Channel, YouTube, YouTube TV, Samsung TV Plus, Amazon, Pluto TV, TikTok, ABCNews.com, the ABC News and ABC News Live apps, and more.
MORE: Ukraine, left out in Trump-Putin summit, fears setbacks on key peace issues
ABCNews.com will have comprehensive coverage of the summit, including up-to-the-minute developments and analysis.
When and where is the summit?
Trump and Putin will have their summit at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska, on Friday, a White House official confirmed to ABC News.
The meeting is expected to happen Friday afternoon Eastern time. An expected news conference will happen afterward -- at some point Friday evening Eastern time.
Alaska is a significant location, given the shared history of the state. Alaska, the United States' 49th state, was Russian territory until President Andrew Johnson signed a treaty to purchase it in 1867, according to the State Department's Office of the Historian.
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"The purchase of Alaska in 1867 marked the end of Russian efforts to expand trade and settlements to the Pacific coast of North America, and became an important step in the United States rise as a great power in the Asia-Pacific region," according to the State Department's Office of the Historian website.
Have Trump and Putin met before?
This isn't the first time Trump and Putin have met. The two leaders met for more than four hours during a summit in Helsinki, Finland, in 2018 -- which occurred in Trump's first term.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump shake hands before a meeting in Helsinki on July 16, 2018.
Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images
After the meeting, Trump was widely criticized for appearing to defend Russia over allegations that it interfered in the U.S. election in 2016. At a news conference after the summit, Trump was asked if he believed his own intelligence agencies or the Russian president when it came to the allegations of meddling in the elections.
"I have great confidence in my intelligence people, but I will tell you that President Putin was extremely strong and powerful in his denial today," Trump said.
Former President Joe Biden was the last U.S. president to meet with Putin. They met during a summit in Geneva in June 2021.
MORE: In Alaska, is Putin offering Trump peace or a trap?: ANALYSIS
Will Ukraine be involved?
Zelenskyy will not be part of the summit, which the Ukrainian president said could impede peace talks.
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky drinks from a Downing Street -themed mug as he sits with Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer in the garden of 10 Downing Street, August 14, 2025 in London.
Ben Stansall/Wpa Pool via Getty Images
Zelenskyy warned in a recent address to the nation that the meeting "will not achieve anything" if peace talks exclude Ukraine.
Asked why Zelenskyy was not being included in Friday's summit, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said that it was because Trump "is agreeing to this meeting at the request of President Putin."
What comes next?
On Thursday, Trump said he believed he'd have a "good" conversation with Putin, but that the more significant development would be a trilateral meeting between the U.S., Ukraine and Russia.
President Donald Trump speaks after signing a presidential proclamation honoring the 90th anniversary of the Social Security Act in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, August 14, 2025.
Will Oliver/EPA/Shutterstock
"We have a meeting with President Putin tomorrow. I think it's going to be a good meeting, but the more important meeting will be the second meeting that we're having. We're going to have a meeting with President Putin, President Zelenskyy, myself and maybe we'll bring some of the European leaders, maybe not," Trump said.
ABC News' Michelle Stoddart contributed to this report.