Soon after the White House announced that President Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin would not be talking during their Alaskan summit without aides present, the two managed to grab some alone time. Trump offered Putin a ride off the Anchorage tarmac to the meeting location in his limousine, known as the Beast, upon their arrival on Friday, the Washington Post reports. Images of a smiling Putin in the backseat with Trump, without aides or interpreters listening, are likely to be unsettling to Ukrainian and European leaders who want the US to push Russia hard on negotiations to end its invasion, Politico points out.
It is rare for the leaders of two superpowers—excepting maybe Roosevelt and Churchill—to carpool, per the New York Times. Trump and Putin would have been able to chat during the short drive; Putin speaks English well enough to carry on a conversation. The visit could raise more questions about what they talk about in private, as did their solo conversation in Germany in 2017. State-controlled media in Russia posted photos Friday showing Putin's limousine sitting on the tarmac, which could mean the ride wasn't arranged ahead of time.
The warmth contrasts with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's treatment at the White House in February, when he was greeted by Trump at his car but—after a tense, shortened Oval Office session—appeared to walk out unescorted. When Putin isn't getting a lift from Trump, he'll be driven around Anchorage in an Aurus, a luxury Russian model that has carried top officials since the Soviet days. Putin has given a couple of Aurus limousines to North Korean ruler Kim Jong Un and took him for a ride in one last summer in Pyongyang.
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