The President of the United States Donald Trump on Friday, August 15 will meet in Alaska with Russian President Vladimir Putin. They are to talk, among others about the war in Ukraine and possible ways to end the conflict. The meeting will probably take place at the Elmendorf-Richardson military base in Anchorage. Inhabitants of the city of 300,000 are afraid of disturbing their everyday life at the peak of the tourist season. However, their fears reach deeper.
– We are all in a sense pessimistic and skeptical. I would say that we expect Trump to do something terrible – says Hollis French, a retired senator in an interview with “The Guardian”.
Anchorage is preparing to visit Putin and Trump
The inhabitants of Anchorage are preparing for the meeting of US and Russia leaders. According to the local ADN information portal, it is a very busy time for the city. The Friday event will coincide with the peak of the tourist season in Alaska, as well as with large -scale military exercises in various parts of the state.
It is true that the city authorities do not provide for major disturbances in the functioning of public institutions or schools, but there was a panic in the hotel industry. Accommodation facilities are even covered with reservations (including journalists), their prices are rising, and many of them no longer have free places. International flights have also been temporarily limited, and some roads may also be closed.
Preparations are not only practical, residents also talk about themselves about their unrest and fears related to Putin's visit to Alaska. In the statements for “The Guardian” they reveal that they have a special attitude towards Russia, which results from the fact that this country is not an abstract enemy for them, but a close neighbor. They remind you that by the mid -nineteenth century Alaska belonged to Russia, but in 1867 they were sold to the United States. And although the rumors that after Friday Alaska will return to Russia are treated with a grain of salt, this topic appears in conversations.
Anchorage, Alaska
The inhabitants of Anchorage “don't like Putin”
-There is such a satirical slogan that circulates among the inhabitants of Alaska, “please do not sell us back”-says in an interview with “The Guardian” Colleen Heaney-Mead, who runs a kindergarten in Anchorage. He adds that this is their way to deal with anxiety.
Emotions towards Russia and Putin are mixed. – We are aware that Russia is an enemy neighbor. Putin certainly intimidated his people. So I think that the inhabitants of Alaska are distrustful of him – says “The Guardian” former Senator Hollis French.
In turn, Jeff Landfield, the owner of the Alaska Landmine website, points to long -lasting cultural ties between Russia and Alaska. “I don't think Russia is our enemy,” he says, however, he adds that people here “don't like Putin”.
Matt Acuña Bxton, a political journalist living in Anchorage, emphasizes that the city has a “really wide dissatisfaction” from the fact that they will be visited by a person covered by the arrest of the International Criminal Court.
