Alaska’s quiet is pierced with a cacophony of questions over Trump-Putin summit
On the Alaska governor’s desk, the horned skull of a musk ox, an ice age relic, is proudly displayed, resting on a collage of pictures of the state.
It was hunted by Mike Dunleavy himself on a trip to an island in the Bering Sea, the narrow strait of water which separates the US from Russia, where Vladimir Putin’s plane will cross into American airspace before his first foray onto US soil in almost a decade.
Mike Dunleavy’s Musk Ox skull
The governor, the state’s most senior politician, proudly tells me that there is another trophy from his hunting trips on show in the nearby airport, a large brown bear hide, encased in glass.
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Alaska is a vast wilderness which is sparsely populated. But the quiet is being pierced now by a cacophony of questions over this summit.
Whittier, a port town near Anchorage, Alaska
Why was Putin invited here? What does he want? What’s he willing to concede? And is Donald Trump about to walk into his trap?
The summit will take place on a military base on the outskirts of Anchorage, Alaska’s biggest city.
It was thrown together at short notice so there were few venue options available, given the security that is required.
Even so, many of the visiting journalists and support staff for politicians are staying in Airbnbs because there are not enough hotel rooms available for everyone.
There is the sense that this is a momentous occasion.
Downtown Anchorage is seen in June. File pic: AP
The last time Putin met a US president was in 2021, when he exchanged starkly differing views with Joe Biden in Geneva.
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What Ukrainians expect from Alaska talks
But that was before his invasion of Ukraine in 2022. He’s been a pariah ever since, wanted by the International Criminal Court for alleged war crimes, including the abduction of Ukrainian children.
With this invite, Trump is bringing him back in from the cold.
The governor of Alaska, Mike Dunleavy
I ask Governor Dunleavy whether Putin is being rewarded for his invasion of a sovereign nation.
“I don’t think so,” he replies, “I think this is an opportunity for the president to sit down face to face [with Putin].
“And the president is going to ascertain really quickly in a face-to-face meeting whether he’s serious or not for peace. It’s difficult to solve these wars unless you have a discussion with the participants.”
‘Never Trumper’ Meg Leonard with her Ukrainian flag
In a green, timber-framed house around the corner, Meg Leonard – a one-time Republican who describes herself as a “never Trumper” – has a different view.
On a tree in her front garden, the Ukrainian flag hangs. She bought it after watching Zelenskyy’s disastrous meeting with Trump in the Oval Office in February on TV.
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Trump – Putin: Why meet in Alaska?
Zelenskyy was mocked for not wearing a suit and told by Trump he “didn’t hold the cards” in the situation.
“I think he was denigrating the president of Ukraine and that is not good,” she says.
“Right after that, I ordered the flag and hung it up because I support Ukraine. Putin should not be allowed to take land that is not his.
“I think Donald Trump thinks he’s a strongman and that Putin should capitulate to him.
“I don’t think Putin has any intention of doing that.”
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‘Putin won’t mess around with me’
Meg says she is appalled that this meeting is taking place one-on-one, without Ukraine’s president. Trump has said that Vlodymyr Zelenskyy will be invited to any follow-up meeting.
“Trump should not be making decisions for Ukraine,” Meg says, “Zelenskyy should at least have a voice in what is being decided. It is his country and his people.
“Putin’s going to be five miles from here. He’s not welcome by me. He is an international criminal; he should be arrested. He is killing women and children, and people in hospitals.”
Whittier, a nearby port town mostly home to fishermen, boat operators and tourists
But you don’t have to go far in Alaska to find a contrasting view.
In Whittier, a port town mostly home to fishermen, boat operators and tourists, wildlife photographer Tim Colley from New York thinks Trump is an underestimated dealmaker. He’s not concerned about Zelenskyy’s absence from the summit.
Wildlife photographer Tim Colley from New York
“I think Trump truly wants peace,” Tim says, “At some point in time, you’ve got to decide how many more people need to die. Does Zelenskyy want to just keep throwing people into the fire?
“I think these two guys [Trump and Putin] have probably the ultimate egos in the world. I’m not sure Zelenskyy’s got the self-control to tread lightly on those egos.”
There is a symbolism to this meeting taking place in Alaska. The US bought the state from Russia in 1867. It’s an example of how territories can be traded.
Ukraine is nervous that their land may, too, be carved up, without them in the room.
Trump has promised that is not on the table in this initial meeting with Putin, but the US president is famously unpredictable.
When he met with Putin in 2018 in Helsinki, he went against his own intelligence community to side with the Russian president, suggesting there hadn’t been Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.
The people of Ukraine, who are enduring a terrifying and intensifying onslaught from Russia, will watch nervously as this summit takes place thousands of miles away without an advocate for them in attendance.
The fast-moving developments on Trump’s Ukraine peace deal are dominating the G20 summit in South Africa, as European leaders scramble to put together a counter-proposal to the US-Russia 28-point plan and reinsert Ukraine into these discussions.
European countries are now working up proposals to put to President Trump ahead of his deadline of Thursday to agree a deal.
Ukraine is in a tight spot. It cannot reject Washington outright – it relies on US military support to continue this war – but neither can it accept the terms of a deal that is acutely favourable to Russia, requiring Ukraine to give up territory not even occupied by Moscow and reducing its army.
Overnight, the UK government has reiterated its position that any deal must deliver a “just and lasting peace”.
Ukraine war latest: Kyiv to discuss ending war in talks in Switzerland
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Keir Starmer calls for growth plan at G20
The prime minister, who spoke with E3 allies President Macron of France, Chancellor Merz of Germany and President Zelenskyy of Ukraine on the phone on Friday, is having more conversations today with key partners as they work out how to handle Trump and improve this deal for Ukraine.
One diplomatic source told me allies are being very careful not to criticise Trump or his approach for fear of exacerbating an already delicate situation.
Instead, the prime minister is directing his attacks at Russia.
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Prime Minister Keir Starmer attends a plenary session on the first day of the G20 Leaders’ Summit. Pic: Reuters
“There is only one country around the G20 table that is not calling for a ceasefire in Ukraine and one country that is deploying a barrage of drones and missiles to destroy livelihoods and murder innocent civilians,” he said on Friday evening.
“Time and again, Russia pretends to be serious about peace, but its actions never live up to its words.”
Pic: AP
On the Trump plan, the prime minister said allies are meetin on Saturday “to discuss the current proposal on the table, and in support of Trump’s push for peace, look at how we can strengthen this plan for the next phase of negotiations”.
Strengthening the plan really means that they want to rebalance it towards Ukraine’s position and make it tougher on Russia.
“Ukraine has been ready to negotiate for months, while Russia has stalled and continued its murderous rampage. That is why we must all work together with both the US and Ukraine, to secure a just and lasting peace once and for all,” said the prime minister.
“We will continue to coordinate closely with Washington and Kyiv to achieve that. However, we cannot simply wait for peace.
“We must strain every sinew to secure it. We must cut off Putin’s finance flows by ending our reliance on Russian gas. It won’t be easy, but it’s the right thing to do.”
Pic: AP
Europeans hadn’t even seen this deal earlier in the week, in a sign that the US is cutting other allies out of negotiations – for now at least.
Starmer and other European leaders want to get to a position where Ukraine and Europe are at least at the table.
There is some discussion about whether European leaders such as Macron and Meloni might travel to Washington to speak to Trump early next week in order to persuade him of the European and Ukrainian perspective, as leaders did last August following the US-Russian summit in Alaska.
But Sky News understands there are no discussions about the PM travelling to Washington next week ahead of the budget.
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