Trump-Putin summit: White house chooses Alaska as a historical place

Trump-Putin summit: White house chooses Alaska as a historical place

In the USA, officials work eagerly to secure a suitable venue for the upcoming meeting between President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on Friday. They came up with a big problem: Summer is high season for tourists in Alaska, which means that the selection of suitable and available locations was severely restricted.

The search for a suitable venue

After the news of Trump and Putin's upcoming visit reached some prominent Alaskans, some of them offered to provide their residences as potential locations. However, it is unclear whether these proposals reached the White House, since the officials in the capital Juneau and in Anchorage and Fairbanks search for suitable options.

anchorage as the main event location

The organizers quickly came to the conclusion that the only city in the huge state was anchorage with realistic options for the summit. Ultimately, the choice fell on the Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in the northern part of the city, which meets the requirements for this historical meeting. The White House had hoped to avoid symbolism to receive the Russian guide and his entourage on a US military base.

The preparations for the summit

The preparations for the meeting illustrate the hectic time pressure that now exists to clarify the details-it is the first time in more than four years that the top US and Russian leaders meet. The two countries are eagerly preparing for this top -class meeting. The Foreign Minister of both nations, Marco Rubio and Sergey Lavrov, had talks on Tuesday about "certain aspects of preparation", as the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced.

Trump’s approach for the meeting

Usually a summit with an opponent in the USA is preceded by an extensive negotiation on the agenda and results. But Trump himself described the meeting as a "first encounter" in which he had no great expectations. The white house titled it as a "listening session".

"The president has the feeling that he has to sit directly opposite this man. He wants to see him face face and find out how he ticks," said Rubio in a radio interview.

The decision for Alaska

After intensive discussions, the Trump administration and the Kremlin decided on Alaska as an event location. The options were severely restricted due to an international arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court against Putin in 2023. While Russia defended itself against a European goal, which also included cities such as Vienna or Geneva, the United States made an agreement on the meeting on the US floor. Trump immediately commented on Putin will visit his country instead of negotiating in Russia or in a neutral place.

comparison to previous meetings

In contrast to President Joe Biden's summit with Putin in Geneva, in which the date and location were announced three weeks in advance, planning for Trump's meetings was much more short -term. Trump and Putin had already had personal conversations in Helsinki in 2018 in Helsinki and in 2017 at the G20 summit in Hamburg, which were often accompanied by skepticism.

uncertainty about the origins of the meeting

Although intensive exchange took place between US and Russian officials, it remains unclear what specifically triggered the initiative for the upcoming meeting. Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff recently met Putin in Moscow, which led to the decision to start the meeting. In the meantime, Trump plans to exchange ideas with European leaders to experience their points of view in front of the summit.

secret conversations between Trump and Putin

Trump will spend at least part of the summit in a personal conversation with Putin without third parties being present. The details of other meetings are still being worked out, but it is not atypical that leaders occasionally speak alone with their counterparts. In the past, however, many of the talks between Trump and Putin have been critically examined.