It will take Donald Trump about seven hours to reach the remote Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Alaska – and Vladimir Putin faces a similarly long journey.Â
The US military installation in Anchorage combines the Air Force’s Elmendorf base and the US Army’s Fort Richardson.
It is Alaska’s largest military base and is home to more than 32,000 people – about 10% of Anchorage’s population.
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The area is also significant for Russia: the US purchased Alaska from the Russian Empire 158 years ago.
In fact, Alaska’s Little Diomede Island is less than three miles from Russia’s Big Diomede Island in the Bering Strait, showing how geographically close the two countries are.
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.”
Holding talks there centres the conversation where global energy and territorial stakes are high, and the US president thrives on spectacle. The rugged frontier of Alaska plays into his flair for the theatrical.
But the Trump administration has also been managing expectations of a peace deal. On Tuesday, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt described the meeting as a “listening exercise” to seek a “better understanding” of the situation.
During the Cold War, the base was regarded as “particularly important” in defending the US against the then-Soviet Union, according to the Library of Congress.
Despite this proximity, Putin will be the first Russian president to visit Anchorage.
Some have criticised the US president’s decision to hold talks on the Russia-Ukraine conflict in Alaska.
“It’s easy to imagine Putin making the argument during his meetings with Trump that, ‘Well, look, territories can change hands,'” said Nigel Gould-Davies, former British ambassador to Belarus.
“‘We gave you Alaska. Why can’t Ukraine give us a part of its territory?'”
Although this will be Trump’s first trip to Alaska since beginning his second term, he made several visits to Elmendorf-Richardson during his first term.
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Joe Biden and Barack Obama also visited; in 2015, Obama became the first US president to set foot north of the Arctic Circle during his trip.
Elmendorf-Richardson hosts aircraft like the F-22 Raptor – a fighter jet the Air Force says “cannot be matched by any known or projected fighter aircraft”.
The US defence department describes the area as having “picturesque, majestic, snow-capped mountains, lakes, rivers, glaciers, and plenty of wildlife”.
It also advises visitors attempting to drive to the base to bring emergency kits, food, blankets and extra fuel, as it is so remote.
