U.S. Treasury chief likens Trump’s meeting with Putin to hosting “an uncontrollable neighbor”

CNN reported this.

Bessent called the Alaska summit “a show of force by President Trump” since he invited Putin to land that once belonged to Russia.

"He displayed a huge amount of military hardware and then did a flyover. It, it was kind of like inviting your uncontrollable neighbor to your house and showing him your gun case," Bessent said Tuesday on CNBC.

He also described Trump’s August 18 meeting at the White House with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and his team as very positive.

“And then we went, met with the European leaders. It was an incredible group to have in the White House, all led by President Trump. And yes, the culmination of that was a call with President Putin,” Bessent said.

The treasury secretary added on Tuesday, “My strong belief is that there will be a bilateral meeting between President Putin and President Zelensky. And that’s the only way to end this conflict is to get the two sides talking.”

• On August 16, U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian leader Vladimir Putin had a nearly three-hour “3-on-3” summit in Anchorage, Alaska. During the meeting at the air base, American F-22 fighter jets and a B-2 Spirit stealth bomber flew overhead.
• On August 18, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy arrived at the White House, where he was greeted by Trump. The leaders first held a bilateral meeting in the Oval Office, then joined European leaders and the NATO secretary general for further talks, which later continued in a different format.