Trump To Bring ‘Putin Whisperer’ Golf Buddy to High Stakes Meeting

When President Donald Trump meets with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, in Alaska on Friday, many expect a trusted lieutenant and seasoned foreign policy hand to be at his side.

The White House has released the list of the full delegation traveling to Alaska, where a summit between US President Donald Trump and Kremlin head Vladimir Putin is expected today. Of note, Trump will have his “right-hand man” with him—Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

Here are the others: Secretary of State Marco Rubio; Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent; Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick; Special Envoy Steve Witkoff; Press Secretary Caroline Leavitt; CIA Director John Ratcliffe; White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles.

Witkoff, a longtime friend of Trump since the 1980s and his occasional golf partner, has been dubbed the “Putin whisperer” after meeting with the Russian leader four times since January, the Daily Mail reported.

“The scheduled meeting between US President Donald Trump and Kremlin head Vladimir Putin will take place on Friday at 11:00 AM local time (10:00 PM Kyiv time) in Anchorage. According to two senior US administration officials, Trump is expected to roll out the red carpet upon Putin’s arrival at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson on Friday and plans to greet the Russian leader upon arrival,” the report noted.

“US Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned that a comprehensive solution to end the war in Ukraine would take longer than the meeting between Trump and Putin in Alaska. Russian dictator’s press secretary Dmitry Peskov claimed that Trump and Putin do not plan to sign any documents following the talks in Alaska,” the outlet added.

Friday’s summit — which will not include Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky — marks the most significant U.S.-Russia diplomatic engagement since the war began in 2022, the Daily Mail noted.

On Thursday, Putin met with Kremlin officials and praised Trump, saying he believed the president was making “quite energetic and sincere efforts” to achieve peace in the region.

The Russian leader suggested that lasting peace could be possible if the U.S. agreed to include strategic offensive weapons treaties in the upcoming negotiations.

Meanwhile, several outlets reported Friday morning that Air Force One had departed Joint Base Andrews carrying President Trump to Alaska.

Since invading Ukraine in 2022, Russia has endured a wave of Western sanctions, yet heavy military spending and securing new oil customers have kept its economy afloat.

Sanctions have targeted the country’s lucrative energy exports in an effort to strain the Kremlin’s finances. The European Union, for instance, imposed a ban on seaborne imports of Russian crude oil in late 2022, CNN noted.

Moscow has adapted by redirecting large volumes of oil to India and China. However, Trump’s threats to impose so-called secondary sanctions — additional tariffs on buyers of Russian oil — could disrupt those trading arrangements.

Trump has warned that starting at the end of August, he will impose a 25% tariff on Indian exports to the U.S. as punishment for New Delhi’s trade with Moscow — in addition to the 25% levy he introduced last week. India has defended its Russian oil purchases as necessary to safeguard energy security for its 1.4 billion citizens.

If secondary sanctions ultimately push buyers of Russian energy to seek alternative suppliers, it could deliver a major blow to the Kremlin, CNN added.

Expectations are high for the meeting. “A potential joint news conference from Trump and Putin — which may or may not be on the cards after their one-on-one meeting — looks set to be an ‘extraordinary spectacle,’” CNN reported, quoting its chief global affairs correspondent Matthew Chance from Alaska.

Russian President Vladimir Putin lauded the Trump administration’s “energetic” efforts to end the conflict in Ukraine. He hinted that Moscow and Washington could reach an agreement on nuclear arms limitation during their summit in Alaska on Friday afternoon.

In his first public comments since President Donald Trump announced the Alaska summit, Putin hosted a meeting of senior Russian officials at the Kremlin on Thursday to advise them on the status of negotiations with the US on Ukraine.