Vladimir Putin arrived in Anchorage, Alaska, on August 15 for a high-stakes summit with Donald Trump aimed at ending the war in Ukraine. Much attention focuses on whether the Russian leader—under an international arrest warrant—could face legal action in the U.S.

Trump told NBC he believes Putin is ready to “make a deal,” though days earlier he warned Moscow of “severe consequences” if it refused to negotiate. He suggested successful talks could lead to a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who insists Ukraine “will not give their land to the occupier.”

This is Putin’s first U.S. meeting with a president since 2015 and his eighth visit since 1999. The last U.S.-Russia summit was in 2021 in Geneva, before the 2022 invasion.

The International Criminal Court (ICC) issued a 2023 warrant for Putin over alleged war crimes. But the U.S., like Russia and China, is not an ICC member, so the warrant “means nothing” on American soil, according to weapons expert Hamish de Bretton-Gordon.

Alaska was chosen for its strategic location near Russia and symbolic history as former Russian territory. Putin is expected to leave without facing arrest.