Russian President Vladimir Putin “immediately” opened and read a letter from First Lady Melania Trump at an Alaska summit focused on the war in Ukraine, according to a new report.

Trump has visited Alaska several times as president, pushed for expanded oil, gas and mining permits there, and even got funding for new polar icebreakers, a popular stance in a state he won with 54% of the vote in 2024.

In a summit meeting marked by red carpets, handshakes and military flyovers, President Vladimir Putin made his first trip to the United States in a decade and was greeted warmly by President Donald Trump.

Trump and Putin are slated to meet in Anchorage, Alaska, on Friday. The high-stakes meeting comes three-and-a-half years into Russia's war with Ukraine, which Trump pledged to end on his first day back in office.

Lawmakers retreated to their partisan corners in response to the Trump-Putin summit in Alaska, with Republicans praising the president and Democrats arguing he was too cozy with Putin.

American officials quickly discovered a major snag in planning for the summit: summertime is peak tourist season in Alaska, and options both available and equipped to host the two world leaders were severely limited.