Tuesday, August 12, 2025

Why is Alaska the venue for the Trump-Putin Summit this week?

Putin has an ICC arrest warrant against himself. That obliges signatories to the ICC to arrest Putin if he is in their jurisdiction. Alaska is the US territory but the US is not a signatory to the ICC (nor is Russia). So the US is not under any legal obligation to arrest Putin although nothing prevents it from doing so.

But that can't be the whole explanation for the choice of Alaska. Putin does not attend the UNGA meetings in New York, presumably for fear of arrest. One reason given for the choce of Alaska is that it is within easy reach of Russia. At the narrowest point, it is a mere two miles away from Russian territory. At the likely venue for the summit, the distance is 88 kms. Russian subs with special forces will be prowling in the vicinity, ready to swing into action if required. In other words, Alaska is fairly safe for Putin.

The Guardian has a story that suggests mutual inconvenience is a factor in the choice of Alaska. The flying time for Putin is nine hours, for Trump it is eight hours. It is also a considerable distance away from Ukraine and its European allies. Further, Putin can fly directly from Russia into Alaska without having to overfly countries that are members of the ICC. 

Some suggest there is a symbolic significance to Putin's wanting to meet up in Alaska. Alaska was sold by Russia to the US for around $7 million in 1867. Which means that territories can jolly well exchange hands. And that would apply to Ukrainian territory currently under Russian control. 


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