Russian nationalists have long demanded the return of Alaska. Now Trump has invited ICC-indicted Putin to the state

Independent

20 hours ago

President Donald Trump is set to meet with Vladimir Putin in Alaska next week, the state that Russia once laid claim to and nationalists want to take back.
Trump announced Friday that a meeting has been set with the Russian leader on August 15 in the Last Frontier state to discuss the war in Ukraine, which the president claimed he would end 'on Day One.'
Despite facing an International Criminal Court arrest warrant, the meeting would mark the first time in a decade that Putin has set foot on U.S. soil.
'The highly anticipated meeting between myself, as President of the United States of America, and President Vladimir Putin, of Russia, will take place next Friday, August 15, 2025, in the Great State of Alaska,' Trump declared on Truth Social.
Critics pointed out that Russia once laid claim to the state of Alaska at the beginning of the 1770s—where they mercilessly exploited Alaskan natives to hunt fur for the Russians—and nationalists have long wanted to take it back.
Alaska was purchased from the Russians by the U.S. for a sum of $7.2 million in 1867—the equivalent of between $129 million and $153.5 million today.
'Trump has chosen to host Putin in a part of the former Russian Empire. Wonder if he knows that Russian nationalists claim that losing Alaska, like Ukraine, was a raw deal for Moscow that needs to be corrected,' said Michael McFaul, a professor of political science at Stanford University and former. U.S. ambassador to Russia.
'Let's all hope that Putin doesn't ask to take Alaska home with him as a souvenir, or Trump might give that away too,' political commentator David Frum said in a post on X.
'Trump inviting war criminal Putin to America is nauseating enough, but hosting him in Alaska — while Putin's pet propagandists routinely demand it back from the US on state TV — is beyond the pale,' author and commentator Julia Davis wrote on X. 'Unless Putin is arrested upon arrival, there's no excuse.'
She posted a series of clips and screenshots of pro-Putin Russian commentators suggesting that Alaska should be part of their country once again.
Trump's former national security adviser-turned foe, John Bolton, said the move reminded him of a blunder the president allegedly nearly made in his first term.
'This is not quite as bad as Trump inviting the Taliban to Camp David to talk about the peace negotiations in Afghanistan,' Bolton told CNN's Kaitlan Collins. 'But it certainly reminds one of that.'
'The only better place for Putin than Alaska would be if the summit were being held in Moscow,' Bolton added. 'So the initial setup, I think, is a great victory for Putin.'
GOP Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska said that she was 'deeply wary' of Putin as she reacted to the news that the summit would take place in her home state.
'This is another opportunity for the Arctic to serve as a venue that brings together world leaders to forge meaningful agreements,' Murkowski said in a post on X Friday. 'While I remain deeply wary of Putin and his regime, I hope these discussions lead to genuine progress and help end the war on equitable terms.'
Putin is wanted by the ICC on a warrant dating back to March 2023 for alleged involvement in the abduction of children from Ukraine during the conflict triggered by Moscow's invasion of its neighbor. At least 19,000 Ukrainian children are thought to have been kidnapped and taken to Russia since the invasion began in February 2022, although Ukrainian officials say the total is probably far higher. Putin's children's rights commissioner, Maria Alekseyevna Lvova-Belova, is also charged over the same alleged offenses.
Putin has traveled overseas since the warrant was issued, including to ICC member state Mongolia. He's also traveled to China and North Korea, which are not court members.
During the 2024 presidential election campaign, Trump repeatedly pledged to end the war between Russia and Ukraine on 'Day One,' but later claimed he said it 'in jest.'
Negotiations on peace talks have been slow moving and, at times, fraught.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who will not be at next week's summit, was ambushed in the Oval Office earlier this year by Trump and Vice President JD Vance. The vice president attacked Zelensky for not saying thank you enough for U.S. financial and military support and accused him of being 'disrespectful.'
Trump has made numerous pro-Putin statements in the past, and said gets along with the dictator 'very well.' His tone changed this month, when he said he was 'disappointed' with Putin as peace talks continued to drag and violence in Europe continued.
The most famous meeting between the two presidents took place in Helsinki, Finland, in July 2018, during Trump's first term as president. Following the meeting, Trump publicly contradicted U.S. intelligence agencies and appeared to take Putin's word over their findings regarding Russian election interference.
The remarks caused bipartisan outrage in Washington, with many accusing Trump of having 'sided with the enemy.'