PUBLISHED on August 12, 2025, 2:35 PM EDT, Key Points and Summary – President Trump and Vladimir Putin are set to meet in Alaska this Friday, but with just days to go, the exact location remains unconfirmed.
-The summit has already sparked controversy, with Russians “cheering” the meeting on former Russian territory, while Western critics and a planned protest in Anchorage decry the “horrendous” symbolism.
-Former U.S. Ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul noted the choice of Alaska plays directly into Russian nationalist narratives that the territory should be returned.
-Meanwhile, Alaska’s governor has welcomed the high-profile diplomatic event to his state.
The Trump-Putin Summit Location is a Disaster
Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin are set to meet on Friday, in Alaska, for the first time since Trump returned to office, and the two leaders are expected to discuss the possible end to Russia’s war in Ukraine.
With the meeting just three days away, it’s still not clear where exactly the leaders will be meeting. The Anchorage Daily News reported that as of Monday, Anchorage Mayor Suzanne LaFrance had said that “the city had not been involved in discussions around a potential visit but was willing to assist.”
Trump, for his part, had mistakenly said in a Monday news conference that he was “going to Russia.”
The Federal Aviation Administration announced that it was “closing miles of airspace around Anchorage on Friday because of VIP travel around the city,” but that might only mean that the two leaders will fly into that city, which contains the state’s largest airport, and not necessarily that the summit will take place there.
As noted by the newspaper, world leaders have sometimes held summits with foreign leaders at airports in Alaska. These included the 1984 summit between President Ronald Reagan and Pope John Paul II at an airport in Washington, D.C., and the 1971 summit between President Richard Nixon and Emperor Hirohito of Japan.
But wherever Trump and Putin end up meeting, it appears protestors will greet them.
Standing Up Against Putin
Per a Facebook post from a group called Stand UP Alaska, which “stands for social, racial, environmental, indigenous & economic justice in AK,” a protest is scheduled for Thursday, the day before the planned summit, in Anchorage.
“Let’s come together in Anchorage, Alaska, to protest against an international war criminal hanging out here. Even though the governor’s on board, President Trump invited Vladimir Putin! We’re here to tell Trump and Putin: Alaska opposes tyranny! #AlaskaStandsWithUkraine,” the Facebook status says.
Once again, it hasn’t been confirmed that the summit will take place in Anchorage, as opposed to somewhere else in Alaska.
The View From Russia
Meanwhile, per The Washington Post, Russians are “cheering” the idea of a Trump-Putin meeting.
“Russian officials and commentators crowed about landing a summit between President Vladimir Putin and President Donald Trump on Friday in Alaska, the first time the Russian leader has been invited to the United States outside the United Nations since 2007 — and apparently without the Kremlin having made any clear concessions over its war in Ukraine,” the Post said.
Russia’s special economic envoy, Kirill Dmitriev, wrote on X this week that Alaska, which the U.S. purchased from Russia in 1867, made sense as a host for the meeting.
“Born as Russian America — Orthodox roots, forts, fur trade — Alaska echoes those ties and makes the U.S. an Arctic nation,” the envoy said on X.
However, Russia’s critics in the West also noted the significance of this symbolism.
“Trump has chosen to host Putin in a part of the former Russian Empire,” Michael McFaul, the former U.S. ambassador to Russia, wrote on X. “Wonder if he knows that Russian nationalists claim that losing Alaska, like Ukraine, was a raw deal for Moscow that needs to be corrected.”
“The symbolism of holding the Trump-Putin summit in Alaska is horrendous — as though designed to demonstrate that borders can change, land can be bought and sold,” Sam Greene, a professor in Russian politics at King’s College London, told the Washington Post. “Never mind that mainstream Russian discourse maintains a claim that Alaska should be returned to Russia.”
Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy played up his state as a destination for such a meeting.
“Alaska is the most strategic location in the world, sitting at the crossroads of North America and Asia, with the Arctic to our north and the Pacific to our south,” he said on X. “With a mere two miles separating Russia from Alaska, no other place plays a more vital role in our national defense, energy security, and Arctic leadership.”
About the Author: Stephen Silver
Stephen Silver is an award-winning journalist, essayist, and film critic, and contributor to the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Broad Street Review, and Splice Today. The co-founder of the Philadelphia Film Critics Circle, Stephen lives in suburban Philadelphia with his wife and two sons. For over a decade, Stephen has authored thousands of articles that focus on politics, national security, technology, and the economy. Follow him on X (formerly Twitter) at @StephenSilver, and subscribe to his Substack newsletter.
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