United States President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin are set to meet in Anchorage, Alaska, on Friday to discuss how to end the war in Ukraine. On Wednesday, following a virtual meeting with European leaders including Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy,

Before Trump and Putin hold a highly-anticipated summit in Alaska to discuss Moscow’s war on Ukraine, experts emphasize the historical significance of this location.

As Trump and Putin gear up for their Alaska summit, the stage is set for what could be a fresh chapter in US-Russia relations. The high-profile meeting is scheduled to take place at Elmendorf Air Force Base.

Alaska, the US state that will host the meeting between Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump on Friday, is a source of imperial nostalgia and often less-than-serious territorial claims in Russia.The territory that Russia sold to the United States in 1867 is now a symbol of the entwined history of the countries,

Writing on Truth Social to complain about “very unfair media” coverage of his upcoming summit with Russian president Vladimir Putin, he said the press would even go so far to say he’d made a “bad deal” even if he reached an agreement for the United States to acquire “Moscow and Leningrad” without giving up anything in return.

Trump has visited Alaska several times as president, pushed for expanded oil, gas and mining permits there, and even got funding for new polar icebreakers, a popular stance in a state he won with 54% of the vote in 2024.

In the early hours of Saturday morning following a summit in Alaska between the leaders of Russia and the United States, senior politicians in Moscow were quick to trumpet the meeting as a win for Russia and its narrative of the war in Ukraine.

When U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin meet in Alaska on Friday, it will be the latest chapter in the 49th state’s long history with Russia — and with international tensions.

Russian President Putin speeches during their joint press conference with U.S. Persident Donald Trump after their meeing on war in Ukraine at U.S. Air Base In Alaska on August 15, 2025, in Anchorage,

The presence of Russian and Chinese navies near Alaska comes as China sent five research vessels to Arctic waters around the state. It also comes ahead of U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin 's meeting in Alaska on Friday, where the leaders are expected to discuss a ceasefire in the Ukraine war.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Sunday that a ceasefire between Ukraine and Russia is "not off the table. " He spoke to NBC News two days after a meeting in Alaska between President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin.