President of the United States Donald Trump shakes hands with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the end of a press conference (AP)

President of the United States Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin will meet in Anchorage, Alaska on Friday to discuss how to end the Ukraine war.

On Wednesday, after a video conference with Ukrainian President Zelenskyy and other European leaders, Trump warned that if Putin refuses to accept a ceasefire agreement after more than three years of war, there will be "serious consequences".

This highly anticipated meeting will take place at Elmendorf-Richardson Joint Base, a U.S. military facility located on the northern edge of the largest city in Alaska.

Elmendorf-Richardson Joint Base is the largest military base in Alaska. The base covers 64,000 acres and is an important base for U.S. military exercises and preparedness in the Arctic.

Location of the meeting between Trump and Putin

The Trump-Putin summit is scheduled to take place on August 15, 2025 at the Elmendorf-Richardson Joint Base in Anchorage, Alaska. This will be the first visit by a Russian head of state to Anchorage. (Al Jazeera)

In 2019, during his first term, Trump visited the base and said that the troops there "serve as the first line of defense on the last frontier of our country."

But it hasn't always been like that. In fact, the U.S. government actually purchased Alaska from Russia in 1867 - just 90 kilometers (55 miles) apart, located at the narrowest point of the Bering Strait.

Russian presidential aide Ushakov said on August 9 at a press conference that Russia and China are neighbors.

Ushakov said, "Our delegation only needs to fly over the Bering Strait, and the fact that the two countries' leaders hold such an important summit in Alaska seems logical."

When did Russia control Alaska?

In 1725, when Tsar Peter the Great sent Danish navigator Vitus Bering to explore the Alaskan coast, Russia had already shown great interest in the region because of its rich natural resources, including profitable sea otter pelts, and its sparse population.

In 1799, Emperor Paul I granted the Russian-American Company the monopoly rights to rule over Alaska. This government-backed group established settlements such as Sitka. After the brutal defeat of the local Tlingit tribes in 1804, Sitka became the capital of the colony.

However, Russia's ambitions in Alaska soon faced many challenges - the distance from the capital St. Petersburg, harsh climate, supply shortages, and increasing competition from American explorers.

In the early 19th century, as the United States expanded westward, Americans quickly found themselves facing Russian traders. Moreover, Russia lacked the resources to maintain its large settlements and military presence along the Pacific coast.

By the mid-19th century, the history of the region underwent a major change.

History

When Russia sold Alaska to the United States

On March 30, 1867, the Russian Empire sold Alaska to the United States for $7.2 million (about two cents per acre), citing financial difficulties, the difficulty of defending remote territories, and the desire to strengthen relations with Washington. (Al Jazeera)

Why did Russia sell Alaska after the Crimean War?

The Crimean War (1853-1856) began with Russia's invasion of the Ottoman principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia (now Romania) along the Danube River. Fearing Russian expansion into their trade routes, Britain and France allied with the struggling Ottoman Empire.

The main battlefield of the war was the Crimean Peninsula, where British and French forces targeted Russian positions in the Black Sea, which connected to the Mediterranean through the Bosporus and Dardanelles, previously controlled by the Ottoman Empire.

After three years, Russia suffered a disastrous defeat and was forced to reassess its colonial priorities. According to calculations by the journal "The Pacifist" published by the American Peace Society in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Russia spent about £16 million on this war.

At the same time, by the mid-19th century, the profits from Alaska had become negligible due to overhunting. Also, Alaska had become a burden in future Anglo-Russian conflicts because of its proximity to British-controlled Canada.

Early in the 1860s, Tsar Alexander II believed that selling Alaska would both raise much-needed funds for Russia and prevent Britain from seizing it in future wars. At that time, the United States, which was continuously expanding across North America, also became a willing buyer, ultimately leading to the Alaska Purchase of 1867.

How did the public react to this deal in the United States?

After the American Civil War ended in 1865, then-Secretary of State William Seward accepted Russia's long-standing proposal to purchase Alaska. On March 30, 1867, Washington agreed to buy Alaska from Russia for $7.2 million.

The United States acquired nearly 1.5 million square kilometers (600,000 square miles) of land for less than two cents per acre and ensured access to the northern edge of the Pacific. However, opponents of the Alaska Purchase argued that the vast ice-covered area was worthless, insisting on calling it "Seward's Folly" or "Seward's Icebox."

"According to the treaty, we have only nominally obtained an impassable icy desert and a large stretch of low trees... We obtained... Sitka and Prince of Wales Islands. The rest is wasteland," wrote the New York Daily Tribune in April 1867.

But the Klondike Gold Rush of 1896 convinced even the harshest critics that Alaska was a valuable addition to the U.S. territory. Over time, the strategic importance of Alaska gradually gained recognition, and it officially became a state of the United States in January 1959.

What is the current economic situation in Alaska?

By the early 20th century, Alaska's economy began to move away from its dependence on gold and toward diversification. Commercial fishing, especially salmon and halibut, became a major industry in Alaska, while copper mining flourished in places like Kennecott.

Subsequently, during World War II, the construction of military bases brought improvements in infrastructure and population growth. However, the most transformative moment came in 1968, when huge oil reserves were discovered in Prudhoe Bay on the Arctic coast.

Oil revenue became the cornerstone of Alaska's economy, funding public services and the Alaska Permanent Fund, which pays annual dividends to residents from returns on stocks, bonds, real estate, and other assets.

These dividends, known as permanent fund dividends, ensure that Alaska's oil wealth continues to benefit local residents even after the reserves are depleted. This system allows Alaska to avoid state income tax and state sales tax, which is rare in the United States.

In recent years, Alaska's tourism industry has boomed, attracting numerous visitors to the state's national parks and glaciers. Today, Alaska has transformed from a ridiculed "buying land" to a resource-rich state based on natural resource extraction, fishing, and tourism.

At the same time, although Alaska has historically treated land as currency, President Zelenskyy hopes that the meeting between Trump and Putin on Friday will not come at the expense of Ukrainian territory.

Sources: Al Jazeera

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