Grizzly bears, 32k troops & one reclusive emperor… inside isolated ‘last resort' base where Trump will host Putin

The Sun

21 hours ago

AN ISOLATED ice military base has been named as the setting for one of the most important superpower summits of our times.
Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin will sit down "one-on-one" at the Elmendorf-Richardson base in Alaska on Friday - the Russian's chance to prove he wants peace.
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The base, near Anchorage, is bristling with troops from the US Air Force, Army, Navy and Marine Corps - as well as National Guardsmen and Reserves.
In all, over 32,000 military personnel and their families live there - ten percent of the population of Anchorage, Alaska's largest city - alongside grizzly bears, moose and wolves.
It played a "particularly important" role in defending the US against the Soviet Union during the cold war, according to the Library of Congress.
The White House apparently wanted to avoid the sight of a Russian leader being welcomed into a US military setting - but concluded there was no other option.
Elmendorf-Richardson is reportedly considered the only site in Alaska which could be locked down to the required level of security for the high-stakes meeting.
Putin will fly the nine hours from Moscow and Trump the seven-and-a-half from Washington, with ample room on the runway for both their presidential aircrafts.
This will not be the first crucial coming together of world leaders at Elmendorf-Richardson.
In 1971, President Nixon held an historic 30-minute discussion with Emperor Hirohito of Japan.
It marked the first occasion that a reigning Japanese monarch had "stepped foot on foreign soil," according to Nixon.
Putin's visit is likely to last longer than Hirohito's, who was only in Alaska for 100 minutes, though proceedings are not expected to roll over into Saturday.
First time a reigning Japanese Emperor had set foot on foreign soil
Trump is reportedly planning to arrive and leave on Friday in order to emphasise the limited timescale.
That could also be because there "nowhere to stay" at the base, according to a Republican speaking to The Times.
Joe Biden also picked Anchorage to backdrop a meeting with the Chinese in 2021.
But Trump will be hoping for a better result after that one turned sour - with the Chinese delegation accusing the Americans of 'condescension and hypocrisy'.
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Alaska was selected as the general location for the meeting before officials knew exactly where it would happen.
America's largest state is a strategic spot, lying at the intersection between North America and Russia.
You can even see Russian territory from Alaskan soil - if you stand on the island of Little Diomede and look out to Big Diomede.
And it's a very long way from Europe and its leaders - whom Putin would much rather forget about.
It also means Russian power is making a return to the territory once owned by the Tsardom.
Putin's distant predecessor, Tsar Alexander II, sold Alaska to America in 1867 for $7.2 million — or two cents per acre.
Vladimir Putin's foreign affairs adviser, Yuri Ushakov, said: "It seems entirely logical for our delegation to simply fly across the Bering Strait, and for such an important and anticipated summit of the leaders of the two countries to be held in Alaska."
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Security expert Hamish de Bretton-Gordon explained why Alaska was indeed a logical choice - and a crucial one for Putin.
The Russian leader was slapped with an arrest warrant by the International Criminal Court (ICC) in 2023 so would in theory be cuffed if he were to visit any of 125 countries around the world - including the UK, France, Germany and Canada.
The United States, however, is among the minority of countries which does not recognise the rule of the ICC - alongside Russia, China, Pakistan and a handful of others.
This means that, unlike most nations, the US is not bound to arrest Putin when he visits.
De Bretton-Gordon said: "He can roam around the world, in theory, in any countries that are not members of the ICC.
"A warrant from the ICC means nothing in those countries that are not signatories to it.
"And the Americans aren't, so - he can go to Alaska.
"That is the loophole. He can operate exactly how he sees fit. He wouldn't have gone anywhere where potentially he could be arrested."
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De Bretton-Gordon added: "President Putin is absolutely fixated about his own security, and his desire not to wander out of friendly airspace.
"There's not much of that to Alaska - he will only be in international airspace for a few miles."
Mike Dunleavy, the Republican governor there since 2018, posted on X: 'Alaska is the most strategic location in the world, sitting at the crossroads of North America and Asia, with the Arctic to our north and the Pacific to our south.
'A mere two miles separating Russia from Alaska, no other place plays a more vital role in our national defence, energy security, and Arctic leadership.'
A 'listening exercise', says the White House
By Sayan Bose, foreign news reporter
DONALD Trump and Vladimir Putin's historic one-on-one meeting will be a "listening exercise", the White House has said.
Friday's summit comes as Volodymyr Zelensky revealed the Russians want Ukraine to withdraw from its eastern Donetsk region as part of a ceasefire deal.
Speaking at a news briefing in Kyiv, Zelensky said Russia's position was conveyed to him by US officials ahead of Friday's summit.
He reiterated that Ukraine would not withdraw from territories it controls because it was unconstitutional and would only serve as a springboard for a future Russian invasion.
Trump's press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, also hinted that the President might travel to Russia after he misspoke yesterday and said he was considering it.
Not ruling out a possible trip, she said: "Perhaps there are plans."
This would mean giving up the remaining 30 per cent of the Donetsk region and would leave almost the entirety of the Donbas in Russia's bloody hands.