Russians hail historic Alaska ties ahead of Trump-Putin summit on Ukraine

The choice of Alaska for talks between Presidents Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin is being seen as symbolic by some Russian commentators.

The choice of Alaska for talks between Presidents Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin is being seen as symbolic by some Russian commentators, who are framing it as a nod to historic ties and a chance for closer relations in future.

It appears that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has not been invited to the summit about the war in his homeland and representatives from Europe have also been excluded, fueling Kyiv’s worst fears that its future might be decided without its input.

But Moscow’s media and political elite have praised the choice of venue — a territory the United States purchased from the then-Russian Empire 158 years ago — framing it as a reminder that the U.S. and Russia are geographically close to one another and suggesting it could strengthen relations between the two nations.

“Russia and the United States are close neighbors, bordering each other,” Putin’s aide on foreign affairs, Yuri Ushakov, said on in an audio message shared by the Kremlin on Telegram last week.

Russia's former ambassador to the U.S. added that it seemed “quite logical for our delegation to simply fly across the Bering Strait and for such an important and anticipated summit of the leaders of the two countries to be held specifically in Alaska.”