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Yahoo
4 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
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 plane will cross into American airspace before his first foray onto US soil in almost a decade. 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. Follow latest updates from Ukraine war Alaska is a vast wilderness which is sparsely populated. But the quiet is being pierced now by a cacophony of questions over this summit. 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. The last time Putin met a US president was in 2021, when he exchanged starkly differing views with in Geneva. 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, is bringing him back in from the cold. 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." 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. Read more:Ukrainians are appalled at Trump's naive and cack-handed diplomacy 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." 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." 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. "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.
Forbes
18-05-2025
- Business
- Forbes
Alaska's Moment for Extractive Diplomacy
Nome, on the Bering coast of the Seward Peninsula, was once Alaska's largest city due to Gold Rush ... More and boasts the world's largest gold pan shown here. Alaska's vast wilderness has been a testing ground of human endurance for millennia as the gateway for human habitation of the Americas. It has also been a frontier for natural resource extraction from its time as a Russian territory to its post-purchase period as an American acquisition. From the Klondike Gold Rush of the 1890s to the Northern Slope's oil boom of the 1970s, minerals have attracted economic interests in the 'Last Frontier' and climate change may provide yet another phase in Alaska's extractive bonanza. I have had the good fortune of traveling far and wide in America's largest state by area. My wife and I did our honeymoon in Alaska around twenty-five years ago by renting an RV and doing the big 2000-mile 'Grand Circle' between Anchorage to Fairbanks and back. Subsequent visits have taken me to Juneau and Seaward on the 'Marine Highway.' Last summer I travelled as an educator and researcher aboard the Norwegian ship The Roald Amundsen from Nome, Alaska through the Bering Sea to the Aleutian Islands and down to Sitka. We visited some of the most remote Alaskan locales such as uninhabited St. Matthew Island and the once seal-furring hub of St. Paul Island. The remarkable resilience of Alaskans - indigenous and settlers alike – resonates will all visitors, and a strong connection to the land and resources is a common thread that binds them. Alaska's current governor Mike Dunleavy was drawn to the resource frontier of Alaska from Pennsylvania's steel-town of Scranton in his early twenties. He worked in a logging camp and made his way into politics to find win-win opportunities for Alaskans around resource development. Last week, the governor was in Washington for the SelectUSA conference and spoke at an event at the Hudson Institute was surprisingly cosponsored by various Japanese organization. The main reason for this co-sponsorship was the nascent agreement between Alaska, Japan and South Korea to offtake Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) from Alaska's north slope which has hitherto been inaccessible due to cost. A new project financing mechanism in three stages and a more diversified product mix, including ammonia generation and carbon dioxide sequestration are making it more viable. Alaska has smartly been reinjecting much of its gas during oil extraction into geological deposits rather than flaring it. This decision has been both ecologically and economically wise. The oil industry in Alaska flared only around 0.17% of its gas production. In comparison, Texas flared almost 1% of its gas; California flared almost 1.1%; Wyoming about 4.75% and North Dakota 7% of all gas produced. The state has also been willing to link its LNG diplomacy to having a carbon storage service for countries like Japan who have set ambitious targets for net-zero Carbon by 2050. In 2022, Alaska commissioned a carbon offset opportunity report and the governor noted this prospects in his remarks as well. Refreshingly, he was also quite pragmatic when it came to conversations about long-term positive relations with China and Russia, rather than seeing cooperation as a zero-sum game, particularly around minerals and scientific cooperation in the Arctic. As the race for critical minerals heats up as well, Alaska has the potential to be a major player. Climate change may well make exploration less costly and shipping routes more navigable in the region. Anchorage airport has been a major transit stop for cargo planes for decades because of its proximity to Asian markets. The airport may also be an attractive feature for the critical minerals' economy, especially if processing plants are set up and refined metal products are to be transported. The U.S. Geological Survey has set up a separate webpage referencing the state's critical minerals potential. Yet all this is only possible if there is a willingness to embrace global markets and have peace and security in the Bering and Arctic Seas. As President Trump develops his agenda for critical minerals through bilateral deals, he should also consider geographic imperatives and the need for multilateralism. Alaska's history as a literal and figurative bridge between not only the Americas and Asia but also between Europe and Asia will gain prominence with climate change. LNG and minerals may well provide us an opportunity to consider unconventional pathways for diplomatic overtures. As the president considers the potential appointment of a new Arctic Ambassador, just as Greenland has appointed theirs, the prospect for diplomacy around extractive industries in the region deserves greater attention.
