In Anchorage, hope, skepticism and questions ahead of Trump-Putin summit

On the eve of a rare US-Russia summit in Alaska's largest city, residents and visitors expressed a mix of optimism, doubt and impatience about what Presidents Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin might achieve when they meet Friday to discuss ending the conflict in Ukraine.

Trump's meeting with Putin will take place at 11 am (1900 GMT) Friday at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson outside Anchorage, and he will leave Anchorage the same day, the White House said in a statement on Thursday.

By Thursday afternoon, at least 350 reporters had registered to cover the summit, staff members at the Dena'ina Convention Center -- which has been contracted for use by foreign and national media outlets – told China Daily.

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

"Everybody here is following the developments," Roncador told China Daily. "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 — this will stop. Human life is priority."

Looking ahead to Putin's planned trip to China in September, Roncador pointed to World War II history, when the United States, Russia and China 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 and stronger commercial relationships … everybody working together for a better future for the world."

As the city braces for motorcades and media crews, Anchorage residents find themselves in an unfamiliar spotlight — one that reflects both the stakes of the talks and the divides in how Americans see them.

"I don't think it should be happening," said Richard Zeigler, a local muralist. He said he believed neither the US nor the Russian president should decide Ukraine's fate.

"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."

Anchorage is still in tourism season, yet preparations for the summit have come together quickly.

For Kim Klempnauer, who is travelling from Arlington, Texas, the meeting is "long overdue".

She credited Trump for the event's success and Putin for agreeing to attend. "I hope there's a mutual respect between the two of them — two, you know, large countries," she said. "I just really hope that they'll be able to come to an agreement … for the Ukrainian people and for all of those that are around and affected by it."

Klempnauer said the war has brought hardship to many far beyond Ukraine's borders. "I'm excited," she said.

Friday's summit on the 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 war 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.

Michael Froman, Council on Foreign Relations president and former US Trade Representative, noted the critical issue at the summit would be whether an unconditional ceasefire could be secured.

"If the President (Trump) is able to come back from Alaska with a cease-fire, that will be a significant achievement. If they start getting into trading territory at Ukraine's expense, then it's not going to be a very good or sustainable agreement," Froman told CNBC on Tuesday.

Eliot A. Cohen, Arleigh A. Burke Chair in Strategy at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said he would "reserve any final judgments until we see what comes of this (summit)".

"Trump is no doubt hungry for a deal because he fancies himself a peacemaker and believes he deserves, or will deserve, a Nobel Peace Prize. That doesn't mean others will or should play along," Cohen said.

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

The White House has also downplayed immediate breakthroughs. At a news briefing on Tuesday, Trump's press secretary Karoline Leavitt has characterized the session as a "listening exercise" for Trump that would give him a better idea of Putin's plans.

Contact the writers at huanxinzhao@chinadailyusa.com