Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy has expressed to Newsweek his hopes for “a just peace” to emerge from the upcoming summit his state will host between President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, along with positive outcomes that could arise from improving ties between Washington and Moscow.
The interview came just hours after Trump wouldn’t rule out reports that he was considering striking a deal with his Russian counterpart that would include offer Russia access to Alaska’s wealth of rare earth minerals.
Dunleavy, a Republican, noted that both nations have access to rare earths and that, “we have a lot of investors looking at Alaska,” home to “a robust and growing mining sector we’ve had for some time.”
“With regard to a better relationship with Russia, obviously a better relationship means that the rhetoric has ratcheted down, we can get back to cooperating on the Arctic through the Arctic Council and other groups that look at the future, what the Arctic is going to look like, its politics, its resources, et cetera,” Dunleavy told Newsweek.
“Also, they’re two-and-a-half miles away from us,” Dunleavy noted. “They’re very close to us. So anytime that you can have decent relationships with a neighbor that close bodes well for everyone.”
‘The Center of the World’
The decision to hold the summit at Anchorage’s Joint Base Elmendorf–Richardson surprised many observers as previous suggestions indicated a third country, such as the United Arab Emirates, would host the two leaders’ first meeting in six years.
Since then, U.S.-Russia relations have deteriorated significantly as a result of Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Cooperation has frozen on a number of fronts, with the eight-member Arctic Council being one of the few institutions in which Washington and Moscow mutually participate.
The symbolism is not lost on Dunleavy, who feels the only U.S. state within the Arctic Circle was the natural choice to host the historic summit.
“If you look at a map, if you just tilt the globe slightly to its proper position, you’ll see Alaska is the center of the world,” Dunleavy said. “We’re nine hours by flight every industrialized place in the northern hemisphere. We’re closer to Moscow than Washington, D.C. is.”
“And our position in the Arctic, our position the North Pacific, our position in the western Pacific, people don’t understand how geographically, strategically we are located,” he added.
The state’s strategic location also serves as the effective front line between the U.S. and Russia at a time where major powers were increasingly scrambling to bolster their Arctic presence.
This year alone, the joint U.S.-Canadian North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) has intercepted Russian warplanes operations within Alaska’s Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ), most recently just weeks ago on July 22.
‘Guardians of the Frontier’
Dunleavy touted what he called his state’s “incredible, robust military presence,” which includes the very state-of-the-art fighter jets assembled at the very base where Trump and Putin are set to meet on Friday.
“We take great pride in that. We also take great pride that we are the guardians of the frontier, up here in the Arctic, in the Pacific,” Dunleavy said. “And so if you can ratchet down the tension, that’s great, but we’ve lived with the situation prior to statehood. And so, I think we deal with as well.”
Prior to becoming the 49th state in 1959, Alaska was overseen by the U.S. as a territory, district and department, the designation for Alaska when it was first purchased by the U.S. in 1867—from Russia.
During World War II, Alaska was the sight of the only military campaign fought on North American soil after Japan seized two of the Aleutian Islands, prompting a year-long battle in one of the most remote theaters of the conflict. Alaska would go on to serve a key position in the Cold War that followed and remains poised to handle future conflicts.
Now, as Europe faces its deadliest conflict since World War II, Dunleavy felt Alaska could also be the site for peace, one that could ultimately bring Ukrainian President Zelensky to the table.
“Our proximity has pressed us into a dangerous neighborhood, but Alaska is designed to meet the challenges up here,” Dunleavy said. “So, from a military perspective, geopolitical perspective, and just simply we are in the middle of the world for the president of the United States to get to, and for the Russian president to get to, and hopefully the Ukrainian president to get to, this is the place to do it.”
‘All Wars Eventually End’
Zelensky is not expected to attend the U.S.-Russia summit, though Trump once again teased the idea on Thursday, saying that remaining in Alaska “would be by far the easiest” way for a trilateral meeting between the U.S., Russian and Ukrainian leaders.
“I think most people agree that a just peace regarding the great country of Ukraine also needs to occur,” Dunleavy said. “And we’re going to watch what transpires from what could be an initial discussion to some extent that starts out pretty well, that President Zelensky may also be invited to come over quickly and maybe get to a place where there is a just peace.”
This would entail “the Ukrainians and the Ukrainian people feel just” from any emerging settlement, according to Dunleavy.
As Putin prepares to make his first trip to U.S. soil in six years, his first meeting with a U.S. leader since the war in Ukraine erupted in 2022 and the first-ever visit of a Russian leader to Alaska, Dunleavy hoped both sides could agree to put “this war behind us sooner than later.”
“Growing economies, growing relationships, all bodes well for mankind,” Dunleavy said. “Wars don’t usually end well for anybody, they’re very expensive and very costly in terms of loss of life, and quite frankly, the relationship damaged here between the Russians and Ukrainians and could last for generations, which is unfortunate.”
“So, the sooner we get this thing taken care on terms that people can live with, the better off the entire world is,” he added.
After all, he said, “all wars eventually end, the vast majority of wars probably shouldn’t even be started.”
‘The Best President in Alaska’s History’
Dunleavy is set to meet Friday with Trump ahead of the U.S.-Russia summit. The governor said the discussion will largely focus on the state itself, praising Trump’s record as “the best president in Alaska’s history,” owing to his policies that have been “terrific” for the state.
At the same time, Dunleavy said he planned to “wish him well in the discussions he’s going to have with President Putin.”
“You’ve got to meet with folks involved in these wars, and that’s the only way you’re going to settle these wars and end these wars,” Dunleavy said. “So, we’re honored that the president chose Alaska.”
“We plan on being the best host possible.”
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