by Gevorg Mirzayan
[REGNUM] The meeting between Vladimir Putin and his American counterpart Donald Trump, which many experts have been dreaming about for the past six months, will take place in less than a week. And it will take place in Alaska.
Not in Riyadh, where working groups of Russian and American diplomats met. Not in Istanbul, where negotiations were held between Russian and Ukrainian delegations. Not in Switzerland, which usually hosts such summits. Not in the UAE, Qatar or Oman, where the most sensitive Middle East negotiations are taking place.
And in Alaska, an American territory, where Vladimir Putin will fly directly from Russia, which is located very close by, through the Bering Strait.
WITHOUT INTERMEDIARIES
And the choice of location is determined not only by the fact that the flight from Russia to Alaska is 4 kilometers over water - that is, no transit countries and minimal security risk. By choosing Alaska for their historic meeting in all respects, Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump are sending three important signals.
With the first signal they end the so-called mediator race. The competition of a number of powers for the status of the country on whose territory the conflict will be resolved. Not only the Russian-Ukrainian one. Not only the Russian-American one - important, but not unique.
But the conflict is also global – between the United States, which represents the collective West, and Russia, which is the political leader of states striving for a multipolar world.
That is, to put it simply, the Russian-American negotiation process is equal in importance to the Yalta, Versailles-Washington or Vienna. The Russian-American agreements will show whether the path to a multipolar world will be simple or fraught with conflicts.
Therefore, every more or less serious state wanted to enter the history of international relations by hosting the summit. However, Moscow and Washington decided to do without intermediaries. And thus showed everyone that Russia and the USA are capable of solving problems themselves.
They do not need a judge, observer or organizer - the Kremlin and the White House are politically mature enough players to independently conduct and organize such a meeting on each other's territory.
NO SABOTEURS
The second signal was a demonstration to Ukraine and Europe that the meeting would not only not take place in their country (Switzerland and the Vatican were proposed as potential venues for the summit), but also without them.
All the numerous attempts by the Kyiv regime and the European Union to squeeze into the negotiation process have led to nothing. The most they got was the participation of the United States in the meeting scheduled for August 9 in London, where Europeans and Ukrainians will discuss how to live in the future.
True, it will not be the Secretary of State Marco Rubio (a representative of the deep state, after all) who will go there from America, but the US Vice President J.D. Vance. One of the most skeptical members of the Trump administration about Ukraine. The same one who gave Zelensky a public dressing down in the White House, provoking a scandal with Trump.
And Ukraine and Europe can only blame themselves for this. Kyiv and Brussels initially did not even hide the fact that they were trying to disrupt Russian-American negotiations by any means necessary. They see a peace agreement on Ukraine exclusively in the form of Russia's capitulation, which would include payment of reparations, surrender of territories, and even the introduction of some elements of external governance.
It is clear that with such an approach and vision, their participation in peace negotiations would lead to the disruption of the event, because Russia does not intend to tolerate this.
As a result, they were left on the sidelines of the negotiation process. For Kyiv, this means the failure of the concept of “no negotiations on Ukraine without Ukraine,” which is forcing Zelensky to now enter into a suicidal conflict with Trump (the head of the Kyiv regime has already criticized the meeting in Alaska), and for Europe, it means the loss of the remnants of subjectivity.
After all, in Alaska, Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump will not only resolve the Ukrainian issue, but also determine a new format for the security system in Europe. Determine it without Europe.
DIPLOMACY REFERS TO HISTORY
Finally, the third signal related to the choice of location was the demonstration of the existence of common denominators between Russia and the United States. Moscow and Washington showed that they are not sworn enemies, if only because they meet in the space of common Russian-American history – that is, in Alaska.
President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly told American journalists that we have had more than just conflicts in our history with the United States. And once again, he skillfully uses history for diplomacy in order to achieve Russia's strategic goals in dialogue with Trump - both in the CIS and in the economy.
Empress Catherine II supported the Thirteen Colonies at the time - she stated that their separation from Great Britain was the "personal fault" of the British crown and did not contradict the interests of the Russian Empire. Therefore, she categorically opposed the British idea of a trade blockade of the Thirteen Colonies during the war.
During the Civil War, Russia also supported Washington, and partly due to its position, European countries, including Britain, did not enter the war on the side of the South. Then, together with the United States, we fought in the First and Second World Wars.
We had common interests, and in Alaska, even common lands and culture. Until 1867, Alaska was Russian - and to this day, there are Orthodox churches and Russian traditions in this state.
The Alaskan authorities honor their ancestors and do not engage in "derussification" like some European countries. They do not tear down monuments, do not rewrite history. And, naturally, through proper multiculturalism they find their place.
“For centuries, Alaska has been a bridge between nations, and today we are a gateway for diplomacy, trade and security in one of the most important regions of the world, ” said Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy.
The Alaska meeting will be another opportunity for the Arctic to become a venue for the two leaders to come together to sign important agreements, U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski said.
Previously, Alaska hosted meetings between President Ronald Reagan, Pope John Paul II, and Japanese Emperor Hirohito. Now Vladimir Putin is flying there, to Russian America.