Russia and Alaska have been historically linked since the time of Emperor Alexander II. Today, however, relations between the American state and Moscow are very cold. Why will Putin and Trump meet there and what is expected?
On Friday - August 15 - Vladimir Putin is expected to arrive in Alaska. The Russian state has historically been linked to the largest American state by area. Until 1867, when Emperor Alexander II decided to sell Alaska to the United States for $7.2 million, the territory was part of the Russian Empire.
The war in Ukraine has dealt a severe blow to relations
“Russian culture and Russian history are deeply rooted in Alaska“, Brandon Boylan of the University of Alaska in Fairbanks told DW. “There are many remnants of Russian heritage”, he added.
Although a small Russian-speaking minority continues to live there today, and a Russian store can still be found in the largest city, Anchorage, Putin can hardly hope for a warm welcome. While Alaska played a role as a mediator in thawing relations between Washington and Moscow at the end of the Cold War, things have changed since Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
David Ramser, a former adviser to two Alaskan governors, told the “New York Times“ that the atmosphere for the summit is tense, as the historical “closeness“ between residents of the northern American state and Russians has weakened since Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Anchorage and Magadan are no longer sister cities
In the past, Russian politicians have appealed for the return of former Russian territories, which remain largely ignored by Alaskans. But the war in Ukraine has alarmed them, Brandon Boylan said. "If tensions between the United States and Russia escalate, I think we will feel it most strongly in Alaska again," he said.
The city of Anchorage ended its decades-long "twin city" relationship with the Siberian city of Magadan in 2023, saying it could not "turn a blind eye to the actions of the Russian government." The Anchorage City Council also called for the removal of all symbols of the twinning. Meanwhile, Juneau, the state capital, remains twinned with Vladivostok.
Why Alaska?
Putin's foreign policy adviser, Yuri Ushakov, said Alaska was a "completely logical choice" for the meeting with Trump. In fact, for both presidents - Putin and Trump - the journey will take at least 8-9 hours, commented the correspondent of “Guardian“ Dan Sabah. Obviously, there are other reasons for choosing this place.
Alaska is very remote from both Ukraine and Europe in general. It is also a safe place for Putin, against whom an arrest warrant has been issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for the forcible deportation of children from Ukraine to Russia. Neither Russia nor the US recognises the ICC, and Putin's plane will not fly over “hostile“ territory.
Only the fourth summit since 2010
Summits between the US and Russia, and before that between the US and the USSR, have usually been held in northern cities. In 2018, Trump and Putin last met in Helsinki. The American leader then said he trusted his Russian counterpart more than his own intelligence agencies when it came to allegations of Russian interference in the 2016 US election.
In 1986, Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev discussed limiting nuclear weapons in Reykjavik, but they never managed to reach an agreement. In 1998, at a time when summits between the two countries were more frequent, Bill Clinton and Boris Yeltsin met in Birmingham and Shropshire. At the time, Russia had just joined the G8.
Today, however, neither nuclear disarmament nor cooperation within the G8 is on the agenda. Both countries are building up their nuclear arsenals, and the organization is now called the G7, after Russia was expelled for its occupation of Crimea.
The Alaska meeting is only the fourth summit between the United States and Russia since 2010. While it is possible that the talks will lead to a ceasefire in Ukraine, there is little reason for optimism. The war continues to be fierce on the front and in the rear, and Russia has repeatedly bombed Ukrainian cities in recent days and weeks, Dan Sabah summarizes.
What to expect?
According to various media reports before the summit with Trump, Putin demanded that Russia gain full control over the eastern Ukrainian regions of Donetsk and Luhansk. This would mean that Ukraine would have to cede several thousand square kilometers of its territory and strategically important cities.
Trump hinted that there could be talk of a land swap between Moscow and Kiev. However, it is unclear what Russia could offer, as well as what security guarantees Ukraine would receive.
“Ukrainians will not hand over their country to the occupier“, commented Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. He stressed that an agreement could not be reached without Ukraine's participation. US Ambassador to NATO Matthew Whitaker commented that the Ukrainian president could participate in the meeting, although there has been no such confirmation so far. “Certainly there cannot be a deal that all participants do not agree to“, he stressed.