Putin-Trump Alaska summit: History, protests and a bear on live TV as war looms in background

For many in Anchorage, the summit is both a historical milestone and a cause for unease.

Anchorage, Alaska, is preparing for a moment it has never seen before, a US-Russian summit on its soil, with Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin meeting face-to-face for the first time in four years. The Friday talks are set against the backdrop of the deadliest war in Europe since World War Two.

Trump has cast the meeting at a Cold War-era air force base as a potential turning point to 'start ending' the Ukraine war. Putin, emboldened by his battlefield position, has hinted at a possible deal to limit strategic nuclear weapons, a move the Kremlin hopes will open the door to a broader discussion of US-Russian global interests.

A Cold War throwback and a bear

The lead-up to the summit has been anything but ordinary. Putin’s foreign minister Sergei Lavrov turned up in Anchorage wearing a sweatshirt emblazoned with the old Soviet Union initials 'USSR' ('СССР'). At least one live television feed captured an unlikely scene — a bear and a moose wandering past.

The Kremlin press corps has been set up in the Alaska Airlines Center, with reporters sleeping in makeshift beds and eating for free at a nearby university, Russian journalists told Reuters.

Timelines and travel

Putin is flying east from Moscow via Russia’s Far East. Trump will head northwest to meet him. The official start time is 11 a.m. Friday (1900 GMT), though it remains unclear whether Putin will arrive on schedule, he is known for keeping leaders waiting.

This is uncharted territory for Alaska, which lies just 55 miles from Russia’s farthest eastern point. The U.S. bought the state from Russia in 1867 for $7.2 million. No Russian leader has visited before.

Local voices: Hope, scepticism and protest

For many in Anchorage, the summit is both a historical milestone and a cause for unease.

“I understand the historical moment. It’s kind of exciting,” said Russian-American resident Galina Tomisser, a former teacher. “I just want to hope, and they say hope dies last, that there will be some fruitful results from this meeting.”

Others are doubtful. “This is just grandstanding for Donald Trump,” said Anchorage resident Helen Sharratt, 65, originally from England. “He likes to look good and think he’s doing something, but he’s not doing anything… I don’t know who’s worse in terms of making a deal and not actually adhering to it.”

Pro-Ukrainian demonstrators have also made their presence felt, holding up a giant Ukrainian flag reading “ALASKA STANDS WITH UKRAINE.”

A cultural split-screen

Inside Chilkoot Charlie’s bar in Anchorage, Soviet and czarist memorabilia, including portraits of Lenin and the last Tsar Nicholas II, decorate a Russian-themed room. Meanwhile, in Moscow, matryoshka dolls featuring Putin and Trump are selling briskly.

Ukraine watches from afar

While the meeting unfolds 8,000 kilometres from the front lines, anxiety in Ukraine is high. Kyiv and its European allies have not been invited to the talks.

“I don’t think anything good will come of it,” said Konstantyn Shtanko in the Ukrainian capital. “At best, it will be a frozen conflict, nothing else.”

(With inputs from Reuters)