Putin arrives late to Trump’s Alaska meeting, reviving debate over his strategy of making leaders wait. Photo/X.
Russian President Vladimir Putin is notorious for making the world leaders wait for hours before the scheduled meetings. According to reports, the Russian President, who is known for his habitual tardiness, arrived 45 minutes late to his high-stakes meeting with US President Donald Trump in Alaska on Friday.
Trump received Putin with a warm welcome while standing on a red carpet at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson. The POTUS clapped as Putin finally approached. The two leaders exchanged a warm handshake and smiles, but the delay recalled a familiar pattern in Putin’s diplomatic playbook.
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This was the first meeting between Trump and Putin during Trump’s second term, and their most consequential encounter since the controversial 2018 Helsinki summit.
Putin’s reputation for arriving late is well documented. Over the years, he has kept a long list of world leaders waiting – sometimes for hours. Analysts suggest the former KGB officer uses lateness as a psychological tactic to unsettle counterparts and gain an upper hand in negotiations.
Among the most notorious instances:
4 hours 15 minutes – German Chancellor Angela Merkel (2014)
4 hours – Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych (2012)
3 hours – Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko (2009)
3 hours – Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko (2013)
3 hours – Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe (2016)
2 hours – Mongolian President Tsakhia Elbegdorj (2014)
1 hour 30 minutes – Israeli President Shimon Peres (2013)
1 hour – Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi (2014)
50 minutes – Pope Francis (2015)
40 minutes – Finnish President Tarja Halonen (2004)
40 minutes – King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden (2011)
40 minutes – U.S. President Barack Obama (2012)
30 minutes – South Korean President Park Geun-hye (2013)
20 minutes – King Juan Carlos I of Spain
14 minutes – Queen Elizabeth II (2003)
Even as recently as January 2025, Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian and his delegation were forced to wait about an hour for Putin in Moscow.
Many analysts argue that Putin’s lateness is deliberate. As a former KGB operative, he is believed to use the tactic as a means to disrupt, unsettle, and dominate negotiations. Those seen as unfriendly to Moscow have often been subjected to longer delays.
Also Read: Why Did Putin Lay Flowers for Soviet Pilots Buried In Alaska After Meeting Trump?
Zubair Amin is a Senior Journalist at NewsX with over seven years of experience in reporting and editorial work. He has written for leading national and international publications, including Foreign Policy Magazine, Al Jazeera, The Economic Times, The Indian Express, The Wire, Article 14, Mongabay, News9, among others. His primary focus is on international affairs, with a strong interest in US politics and policy. He also writes on West Asia, Indian polity, and constitutional issues. Zubair tweets at zubaiyr.amin
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