Russia’s foreign minister Sergei Lavrov was spotted wearing a USSR sweatshirt as he arrived in Anchorage ahead of Russia’s highly anticipated summit with US president Donald Trump.
The veteran politician arrived in Alaska ahead of President Vladimir Putin as a key member of Russia’s delegation. As he stepped out of a black vehicle ahead of the summit, he wore a sweatshirt beneath his black gilet that appeared to read ‘CCCP’, an abbreviation of the Russian-language cognate of USSR.
Lavrov’s vintage sweatshirt appeared to be a tongue in cheek reference to how critics of Putin have alleged the Russian leader wants to rebuild Soviet Russia. Statues of former General Secretary of the USSR Joseph Stalin have reappeared in Russia, with a monument to the dictator being unveiled in Moscow’s subway station earlier this year.
The foreign minister said ahead of the conference that Russia “never plans ahead”, responding to the US president’s comments on Thursday that there was a 25 per cent chance the summit to arrange peace between Ukraine and Russia would fail.
“We know that we have arguments, a clear, understandable position. We will state it,” Lavrov said in footage posted to the Russian Foreign Ministry’s Telegram channel.
Trump told Fox News in a radio interview on Thursday that he didn’t know if they would get “an immediate ceasefire” but he wanted a broad peace deal done quickly. This seemed to echo Putin’s longtime argument that Russia favours a comprehensive deal to end the fighting in a way that reflects Moscow’s demands, as opposed to a temporary halt to hostilities.
The Kremlin has said the two world leaders will first sit down for a one-on-one discussion, followed by the two delegations meeting and talks continuing over “a working breakfast.” They are then expected to hold a joint press conference.
Trump has offered shifting explanations for goals of the summit. He initially described it as a “feel-out meeting” but has also warned of “very severe consequences” for Russia if Putin does not agree to end the war.
He has also said that while Putin might have a reputation for bullying other leaders, “he’s not going to mess around with me.”
Trump has repeated suggestions that a deal would likely involve “some swapping of territories”, although it remains unclear what Putin would swap in a deal. Other reports have suggested Russia might be financially incentivised into a ceasefire, with offers to gain access to Ukraine’s minerals.
European leaders and Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky await the summit’s outcome having spoken to Trump on Wednesday after his mention of “land swapping” sounded alarm bells. Zelensky has warned that Putin is “bluffing” when it comes to the prospect of a ceasefire, while his European allies have stressed the need for Ukraine to be involved in any peace talks.
Trump has said that if his summit with the Russian president goes well, he will immediately seek to negotiate a sit down between the Ukrainian and Russia heads of state.
