Hope, skepticism and questions cast over Trump-Putin Alaska summit

Regarding a rare United States-Russia summit in the US state of Alaska's largest city, locals and visitors alike are expressing a mix of optimism, doubts and impatience about what US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin might achieve concerning the end of the conflict in Ukraine. Some also believe that the Russia-Ukraine conflict can only end through negotiation involving all parties.

Trump's meeting with Putin was set to take place at 11 am Alaska time on Friday at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, after which Trump will leave the city the same day, the White House said in a press statement on Thursday.

By Thursday afternoon, at least 350 reporters had registered to cover the summit, staffers at the Dena'ina Civic and Convention Center in downtown Anchorage — which has been contracted for use by foreign and US national media outlets — told China Daily.

For Mario Roncador, an Anchorage resident of a decade who grew up in Italy, the news that Alaska was playing host felt momentous.

"Everybody here is following the developments," Roncador said. "We're close to Russia, so this is very important to us. Hopefully, Alaska will be the best place for them to make the decision to take an agreement to stop this war and be back to where we were before."

Roncador, whose parents are visiting from Italy, said his own family conversations are often about Ukraine. "Everybody wants peace," he said. "I really hope that all these young men … dying every day, fighting each other — they don't know each other — will stop. Human life is priority."

He also pointed to World War II history, when the US, Russia and many other countries fought as allies. "The huge potential of humanity is when you have different cultures, different mindsets, working together toward the same goal," he said. "This is a step toward peace … everybody working together for a better future for the world."

As Anchorage braced for motorcades and media crews, locals found themselves in an unfamiliar spotlight — one that reflects both the stakes of the talks and the divides in how people in the US see them.

"I don't think it should be happening," said Richard Zeigler, a muralist. Zeigler added that neither the US nor Russian presidents have the right to decide for Ukraine. "That's a separate country; they're a sovereign country," he said.

Zeigler said Ukraine's absence from the table undermines the summit's credibility. "If you're really going to have a true meaning about bringing peace to that part of the world, they should be really involved the whole time," he said. "To cut them out … to show the world they don't exist in this matter, that's just wrong."

'Long overdue' meeting

Anchorage is still in its tourism season — the peak of the salmon run. For Kim Klempnauer, who is traveling from Arlington, Texas, the meeting is "long overdue".

Klempnauer credited Trump for the event's taking place and Putin for agreeing to attend. "I hope there's a mutual respect between the two of them," she said. "I just really hope that they'll be able to come to an agreement."

She said the conflict has brought hardships to many far beyond Ukraine's borders.

Friday's summit on US soil is the first meeting between US and Russian heads of state since the Russia-Ukraine conflict erupted in February 2022. Whether the one-day event will deliver peace, or just another round of rhetoric, remains to be seen.

"I am president, and he's not going to mess around with me," Trump told reporters at the White House a day before his meeting with Putin.

"If it's a bad meeting, it'll end very quickly, and if it's a good meeting, we're going to end up getting peace in the pretty near future," said Trump, who gave the summit a one in four chance of failure.

On Thursday, Putin praised Trump's efforts to end the Ukraine conflict in a short video released by the Kremlin. The video said the Trump administration was making "quite energetic and sincere efforts to stop hostilities", and reach agreements that benefit all parties.

Russia will make its position clear during the Alaska summit, Russian media reported on Friday.

"We are not planning anything in advance. We know that we have arguments, a clear and understandable position," Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said upon his arrival in Alaska.

Jack Midgley, principal of global consultancy Midgley & Co and an adjunct associate professor in the Security Studies Program at Georgetown University, said that no matter what is said at the summit, the message to NATO is clear: Trump is dealing with the Ukraine conflict with little regard for European interests or concerns. The US sees Ukraine as a bilateral US-Russia issue.

Midgley said that the US and Russia cannot resolve the Ukraine issue without involving Ukraine.

Earlier this week, Trump dialed down expectations, describing the summit as "a feel-out meeting" where he can assess the Russian leader's intentions.