The US and Russia have agreed that the meeting between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin will take place in Anchorage, Alaska, and that a ceasefire in Ukraine should be discussed during it, but it is unlikely that any significant result will be achieved, reports the British broadcaster BBC.
The three rounds of talks between Russia and Ukraine organized by Trump have already taken place and have not yielded any results.
Alaska, where the leaders of the two superpowers will meet, also belonged to Russia for some time. In 1867, Alaska was purchased by the US, and in 1959 it became one of the US states. Therefore, the meeting place is historically significant for Russia. Putin’s advisor Yuri Ushakov noted that the two countries are neighbors, separated only by the Bering Strait. “It seems quite logical that our delegation will simply cross the strait, and that such an important and long-awaited meeting of the leaders of the two countries will take place precisely in Alaska,” said Ushakov.
The last time Alaska served as a venue for a politically important meeting was in 2021, when former US President Joe Biden’s diplomatic and national security teams met with their Chinese counterparts there. True, the meeting ended on a bitter note, and the Chinese called the Americans hypocritical and arrogant.
The White House confirmed on the 12th of August that the meeting would take place in Anchorage.
The politicians will be received at the Elmendorf-Richardson Army Base, which is the largest military facility in Alaska and the main US base in the Arctic region.
However, not everyone is happy about the meeting of the politicians. The Kyiv Independent reports that the non-governmental organization Stand Up Alaska is planning large-scale protests. The NGO announced on the 11th of August that it would be there to show Trump and Putin that Alaska stands against tyranny. One protest is planned in Anchorage on the 14th of August, and its purpose is to oppose the presence of an internationally indicted war criminal and to show solidarity with Ukraine.
Meanwhile, Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy said that the state is preparing for a historic event. The governor said that Alaska is the most strategic place in the world, located at the crossroads of North America and Asia, with the Arctic Ocean to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south, and no other place plays such a vital role in the country’s defense and energy security. Dunleavy represents the Republicans, the current ruling party in the United States.
Alaska is the largest and, due to its mineral resources, the richest state in the United States, and its outermost islands in the Bering Sea are located less than five kilometers from the outermost islands belonging to Russia.
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