Documents allegedly left behind after the meeting between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin in Alaska have reportedly unveiled new insights into their private discussions.
On August 15, Trump and Putin convened for an extended discussion aimed at negotiating a peace agreement in the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine. The meeting was held in Anchorage, Alaska, drawing significant attention as their aircraft arrived and a red carpet was prepared for their arrival.
The two leaders greeted each other with a handshake in front of the media, with Trump’s assertive handshake being noted for its firm “yank” of Putin.
After approximately three hours of dialogue, the presidents held a short 12-minute press conference, announcing that while no resolution was reached, they had made “progress” towards an agreement.
Details of their discussions have surfaced in a rather unexpected manner. A set of eight papers, reportedly left at an Alaskan hotel, is believed to reveal undisclosed, potentially sensitive information about the meeting.
NPR reported that these papers, marked with US State Department insignia, were discovered on Friday morning in the hotel’s business center.
The documents appear to have been produced by government staff, who seemingly left them in the public printer at the hotel.
According to the outlet, the papers allegedly contain specific meeting times and locations of the summit, along with private details about personnel involved.
Three guests at Hotel Captain Cook discovered these documents and took photographs of the pages.
These images were sent to NPR under a request for anonymity. The initial page reportedly details the names of rooms at the Anchorage site and mentions Trump’s plan to gift Putin an “American Bald Eagle Desk Statue.”
White House Deputy Press Secretary Anna Kelly characterized the documents as a “multi-page lunch menu” on Saturday, dismissing any security breach concerns. However, pages two through five allegedly include the names and contact information of three US personnel and names of 13 leaders from the US and Russia.
The documents are also believed to list names of Russian officials expected to attend the summit, along with phonetic guidance for pronouncing them.
Further, pages six and seven reportedly outlined a lunch “in honor of his excellency Vladimir Putin,” including a seating arrangement.
Positions for Putin and Trump were identified, with six officials expected to sit alongside the President of the United States.
These officials reportedly included Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent, Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick, and Special Envoy for Peace Missions Steve Witkoff.
As per the documents, Putin’s seating was next to his Foreign Minister, Sergey Lavrov, and Foreign Policy Aide, Yuri Ushakov.
While the lunch was reportedly cancelled, the documents indicated they were supposed to have a menu of salad, filet mignon, halibut Olympia, and crème brûlée.
The White House has been contacted for comment.