Trump-Putin Meet: Hotels Booked Up, Flights Curbed At Alaska Ahead Of Summit

US President Donald Trump is set to meet Russia's Vladimir Putin on Friday in Alaska. The summit has critical implications, as Trump aims to negotiate an end to the latter's war with Ukraine.

According to sources close to NDTV, all the hotels in the surrounding locale are booked up, and taxi cab services from and to the area are also difficult to access.

Trump will meet the Russian president at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, which is Alaska's largest military installation. It served as a base for surveillance of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics during the Cold War.

This will be the first time Putin is setting foot into Western territory since he started the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. A war that has 10 lakh estimated casualties, from which Russia was making notable gains prior to the meeting.

The federal administration also put in place temporary flight restrictions which are expected to be from 9.30 a.m. local time to 6.45 a.m. local time on Friday. These constraints are not likely to have any substantial impact on commercial flights, NDTV reported.

This is one of the most significant moments in Anchorage's history of hosting eminent personages, according to Mike Dunleavy, Governor of Alaska.

Other notable instances include hosting the Pope of the Catholic Church and former US President Ronald Reagan.

Trump is expected to touch down in Anchorage at around 10.10 am local time, and Putin is anticipated to arrive 50 minutes later.

The meeting is planned to commence at 11.30am onwards. This is expected to be followed by a press conference, either by both the countries' presidents or just Donald Trump. 

The US President had often lauded Putin in the past and saw some of the most acute criticism of his political career after a 2018 summit where he seemingly capitulated to and conceded the latter's rejection of US intelligence findings that Russia interfered in the 2016 US election.

Before his return to the White House, Trump often boasted about his relationship with his Russian counterpart and blamed his predecessor Joe Biden for the Russia-Ukraine war and stated that he would bring peace between the two nations within 24 hours.

But despite repeated entreaties to Putin and an astonishing White House meeting on Feb. 28 in which Trump and Vice President JD Vance publicly castigated Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, the Russian President did not budge.

Trump confessed his exasperation with his Russian counterpart and warned of "very severe consequences" if he does not accept a ceasefire but also agreed to meet him in Alaska.

Adding to the historical significance, the US purchased Alaska in 1867 from Russia, which is a deal Moscow cited to show the legitimacy of land swaps.

The Kremlin stated that it expects Putin and Trump to meet alone with interpreters before a working lunch with aides.