The decision to hold a meeting between the leaders of Russia and the United States in Alaska was a complex challenge for the US Secret Service, Bloomberg reported, citing its sources.
According to them, preparations for the summit can be compared to “a full-scale sprint packed into a week“. And although holding the meeting on American soil allows the Secret Service to move all the necessary resources without restrictions, Alaska's geographical location “in itself became a certain challenge“. Hundreds of Secret Service agents had to be sent to Anchorage, providing them with transportation and accommodation. The rental car market in Anchorage is small, so agents have had to transfer transportation to the city from other parts of the state and even the country.
In addition, while ensuring security in Alaska, the Secret Service is preparing for the high-level week of the United Nations General Assembly, which will be held in New York in September, the agency notes.
Russian and American Presidents Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump will meet in Anchorage, Alaska, on August 15. These will be the first personal talks between the two heads of state since June 2021, when Putin met with then-US President Joe Biden in Geneva. Putin will be the first Russian leader to visit Alaska, which was sold to the United States in 1867 for $7.2 million.
The Secret Service, which in recent years has operated under the auspices of the US Department of Homeland Security, has primarily provided security for the country's top leadership and foreign leaders on American soil. Until 2003, this special service, which has the status of a federal law enforcement agency, was part of the US Treasury Department. This was explained by the fact that it was founded in 1865 to combat counterfeiting of the US national currency, but subsequently its functions were significantly expanded.