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Newsweek
4 days ago
- Business
- Newsweek
Map Shows Alaska's Natural Resources That Trump Could Offer Putin
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. Newsweek has mapped the coastal areas around Alaska that could be part of an incentive deal President Donald Trump offers Russian President Vladimir Putin to end the war with Ukraine. Britain's Daily Telegraph newspaper reported that access to Alaska's natural resources—oil and gas—could be up for discussion when the leaders meet in Anchorage on Friday, as well as rare earth minerals in Ukraine and lifting some sanctions on Russia's aviation sector. A White House official told the Daily Telegraph that it would not comment on deliberative conversations that may or may not be happening. Newsweek reached out to the White House for comment. U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation leaders' summit in Danang, Vietnam, on November 17, 2017. U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation leaders' summit in Danang, Vietnam, on November 17, 2017. Why It Matters The Bering Strait separates Alaska from Russia where they are less than 3 miles apart. As well as being strategically important because of melting Arctic sea ice and expanding shipping routes, it could also be a gateway to considerable undiscovered oil reserves. Alaska's oil and gas exploration leases are concentrated on its North Slope facing the Arctic Ocean and in the Pacific-facing Cook Inlet connecting the Gulf of Alaska to Anchorage. In the 1980s, U.S. energy companies drilled into the Bering Sea looking for untapped reserves, but all of those wells have been abandoned and the area is strictly regulated because of environmental concerns. There has been angry online reaction to the unconfirmed report that Alaska's resources could be part of a deal with Putin. What To Know Trump will meet with Putin on Friday in Anchorage, where discussions are expected to focus on ending the war in Ukraine which has been raging for 3 1/2 years. The Telegraph said that U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and other senior administration officials are working with Trump to finalize economic proposals aimed at incentivizing the Kremlin to agree to a ceasefire. Among them are offering Russia opportunities to tap into the valuable natural resources in the Bering Strait that would bolster its interests in the Arctic region, which accounted for 80 percent of Russia's gas production in 2022. Discussions between the U.S. and Russia over cooperation in the Arctic started at the beginning of Trump's second term, with Bloomberg reporting in February that officials from both countries discussed economic cooperation in the region. Andreas Østhagen, research director of Arctic and ocean politics at the Fridtjof Nansen Institute, told Newsweek that the proximity of Alaska's location to Russia for Friday's summit sent a strong signal about the Arctic's importance for both countries. He said some of the motivation from the Trump administration to work with Russia stemmed from the idea that U.S.-Russia cooperation could then drive a wedge between the strengthening alliance between Moscow and China in the Arctic. He said there are known quantities of oil and gas in the Chukchi Sea north of the Bering Strait where there was potential to initiate exploration for strategic oil fields, which would require Russian and American companies to collaborate in some fashion, Østhagen added. Berlin-based energy industry expert Thomas O'Donnell told Newsweek that a potential Trump offer for Putin to exploit Alaskan resources was consistent with his Plan A, which offered the Russian president a chance to end the war with oil, gas, and mineral deals. The idea was to induce Putin not only to make a peace deal but to move away from China and back toward the West, but the plan has not worked, he said. Trump's newly approved arms for Ukraine and oil tariffs on India are Plan B, "but, if Putin makes a deal, I'm sure Trump will lavish Putin with investments and trade deals," O'Donnell added. The Telegraph also reported that the U.S. might offer the rare earth minerals in the Ukrainian territories Moscow partially occupied and lift export bans on parts and equipment needed to service Russian planes, many of which have fallen into disrepair. What People Are Saying Republicans Against Trump, on X: "The Telegraph reports that Trump plans to offer Putin access to Alaska's natural resources and sanctions relief if he agrees to a ceasefire Why reward an aggressor who has no interest in a real and lasting ceasefire? Outrageous!" Andreas Østhagen, research director of Arctic and ocean politics at the Fridtjof Nansen Institute, told Newsweek: "if you want to push this idea of collaboration with Russia, in the Chukchi Sea there's potential to initiate exploration." Berlin-based energy industry expert Thomas O'Donnell told Newsweek: "Trump's whole premise is to entice Putin to stop the war in a way that draws him away from China and towards the West." What Happens Next The Kremlin said that the Russian delegation accompanying Putin will include Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, Defense Minister Andrei Belousov, Finance Minister Anton Siluanov and Russian Direct Investment Fund head Kirill Dmitriev. The Kremlin said that the main topic on Friday will be a settlement of the war in Ukraine, but economic cooperation and global security will also be discussed.
New Straits Times
30-07-2025
- Climate
- New Straits Times
Malaysia urges vigilance after Japan issues tsunami advisory
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia is closely monitoring the situation following a tsunami advisory issued by the Japan Meteorological Agency after a powerful earthquake struck off Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula on Wednesday. In a media statement, the Foreign Ministry (Wisma Putra) said that there are currently no reports of Malaysians affected by the situation. "However, all Malaysians in the affected areas are strongly advised to remain vigilant, follow safety instructions issued by local authorities, and stay updated through official channels," the ministry said. Wisma Putra also advised Malaysians residing in or travelling through the affected areas to register with the embassy and remain in close contact to ensure timely assistance if necessary. The Foreign Ministry said Malaysians requiring consular assistance could contact the Embassy of Malaysia in Tokyo at 20-16, Nanpeidai-cho, Shibuya-ku, 150-0036 Tokyo, Japan, or reach the embassy by phone at +81-3-3476-3840 / emergency: +81-80-4322-3366 or email mwtokyo@ / In a further precautionary step, Wisma Putra is also closely monitoring the after-effects of the earthquake on other Pacific-facing nations, including the United States (particularly Hawaii), Mexico, the eastern seaboard of China, and the Philippines, as tsunami alerts and precautionary measures may be issued in these regions. Japan on Wednesday issued a tsunami warning for the country's Pacific coast after a magnitude 8.8 earthquake struck off Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula in the morning, with waves of up to 50 centimetres recorded in parts of northern and eastern Japan, Kyodo News Agency reported. The Japan Meteorological Agency has warned of tsunami waves of up to three metres reaching areas stretching from Hokkaido in northern Japan to Wakayama Prefecture in the west and the Ogasawara Islands in the south. The warning could remain in effect for the entire day, the agency said. The quake occurred at 8.24am, about 120km east-southeast of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky at a depth of about 20km, according to the US Geological Survey.
Time Magazine
30-07-2025
- Climate
- Time Magazine
Where Tsunamis Have Hit So Far After Massive Earthquake
The sixth-strongest earthquake ever recorded has triggered waves several feet high hurtling towards coastal areas worldwide. Countries in and around the Pacific Ocean have been placed on varying degrees of alerts for anticipated tsunamis. While it's still too early to fully assess how damaging the natural disaster could be, authorities have generally advised residents in at-risk areas to seek higher ground and avoid coastlines. Here are the countries that have been hit so far by tsunamis since the historic quake. Russia In Russia, where the quake originated on Wednesday around 8:25 a.m. local time (4:25 p.m. ET, Tuesday), tsunami waves of 10-13 ft (3-4 m) hit the port town of Severo-Kurilsk in the far east coast. The town of about 2,000 people was evacuated. Footage circulating online showed buildings inundated as the waves reached the coast. According to state-run news agency TASS, the mayor said three waves hit the town, with the last being the most powerful. Russia's Ministry of Emergency Situations said on Telegram that, besides the port town, an Alaid fish processing plant was also 'partially flooded.' Japan On Wednesday at 9:40 a.m. local time (8:40 p.m. ET, Tuesday), the Japan Meteorological Agency issued warnings of tsunamis as high as 3 m in the country's Pacific coast. The agency has, as of 5 p.m. local time, observed many tsunamis along the nation's east coast, including a wave in Kuji Port shortly before 2 p.m. (1 a.m. ET) that rose as high as 1.3 m. Earlier, 30-cm waves struck several areas of the northern island of Hokkaido. Video shared by Reuters showed high waves reaching the island's coastline. There has so far been no reports of tsunami-related damages, though public broadcaster NHK reported that Tokyo authorities continue to advise people to avoid the sea. Some of the beaches in the country have also been evacuated. JMA official Kiyomoto Masashi said, according to NHK, that a single tsunami can have a very long cycle of about one hour and tsunamis can still be observable over longer periods of time after the quake that caused them. U.S. According to the National Weather Service, tsunami waves have been detected in the Pacific-facing side of the Alaska peninsula. Waves less than a foot high were detected in the islands of Amchitka and Adak, and are also picking up in the coastal city of Saint Paul. California reported its first tsunami waves just after 1 a.m. PT (4 a.m. ET). Water levels in Crescent City, which is in Northern California near Oregon, went up to 1.5 ft, data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) showed. NWS Bay Area reported that tsunami waves arrived in San Francisco around the same time, while NWS Los Angeles said that the tsunami was 'making its way down the coast,' though it previously noted for Southern California residents that 'widespread inundation is not expected.' Waves up to a foot have been observed in Guam, a U.S. territory in the Pacific, according to the island's civil defense office. More similarly tall waves are expected, though they are gradually expected to ebb in the next hours. The archipelagic state of Hawaii began to be hit by waves around 7:30 p.m. HST (1:30 a.m. ET), according to NOAA data, which showed that waves as high as 5.7 ft (1.74 m) were detected in Kahului, Maui, coming in 34-minute intervals. Gov. Josh Green said in a news conference Tuesday evening that 'so far we have not seen a wave of consequence, which is a great relief to us.' Data from the Midway Atoll sitting between Japan and Hawaii saw waves as high as 1.8 m., and Green said that waves that could hit Hawaii could be bigger or smaller than that. 'We expect to be about two to three hours at least until we can call 'all clear,'' Green said around 8:30 p.m. (2:30 a.m. ET). 'So far though, at the moment, so good.'
