U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin gathered in Anchorage on Friday for the first U.S.-Russia summit in four years, a meeting overshadowed by the war in Ukraine and the possibility of renewed talks on nuclear weapons.
The choice of Alaska carried layers of history and symbolism. The state lies just 55 miles from Russia’s eastern edge and was purchased by the United States from Moscow in 1867. No Russian leader had visited before.
Trump, who framed the summit as the “start of the end” of the deadliest European war since World War Two, arrived seeking a breakthrough. Putin, more confident after battlefield gains, came offering negotiations on limiting strategic nuclear weapons, a step the Kremlin hopes could open broader discussions about global influence beyond Ukraine.
Anchorage provided an almost dreamlike milieu for the diplomatic discussions. The surrealism assaulted every sense: visiting Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov arrived in a faded red sweatshirt emblazoned with the letters “USSR,” and midway through a press conference a bear and a moose wandered into frame, dramatically eclipsing the official logo and the speaker.
The Russian press didn’t exactly get the red-carpet treatment. They were stuck making their own beds in an event center and eating like college students at the local university cafeteria.
And even though the meeting had an 11 a.m. start time, nobody was holding their breath for Putin. Keeping people waiting is his signature power play.
For many Alaskans, the summit felt like an event pulled from history books. “I understand the historical moment. It’s kind of exciting,” said Galina Tomisser, a Russian-American former schoolteacher living in Anchorage. “I just want to hope, and they say hope dies last, so maybe there will be some fruitful results.”
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Not everyone shared that optimism. On the streets, pro-Ukrainian demonstrators held a large banner reading “ALASKA STANDS WITH UKRAINE.” Local resident Helen Sharratt, 65, voiced skepticism about both leaders. “This is just grandstanding for Donald Trump,” she said. “He likes to look good and think he’s doing something, but he’s not. And meeting with Putin is—actually, I don’t know who’s worse when it comes to making a deal and not keeping it.”
Anchorage itself carries traces of Russia’s past. At the bar Chilkoot Charlie’s, Soviet and czarist memorabilia decorate a room, including portraits of Lenin and Tsar Nicholas II. In Moscow, meanwhile, matryoshka dolls featuring Trump and Putin were selling briskly.
Reactions in Ukraine told a different story. Many feared decisions would be made without Kyiv’s voice at the table. “I don’t think anything good will come of it,” said Konstantyn Shtanko, speaking in the capital. “At best, it will be a frozen conflict. Nothing else.”
The meeting in Anchorage was just hours long, but expectations extended far beyond the Alaskan capital. For Trump, it was a chance to reassert statesmanship. For Putin, it was a stage to reinforce Russia’s global standing. For many watching—whether in Alaska, Moscow, or Kyiv—the uncertainty remained whether any promises would last.
