President Putin - the first Russian leader to visit Alaska
President Putin became the first Russian leader to visit Alaska since the collapse of the Soviet Union.
According to RIA Novosti on August 9, Russian President Vladimir Putin's upcoming visit to Alaska during a summit with his US counterpart will be the first visit in history, as no Russian leader has visited here before.
During the Soviet era, several leaders visited Alaska, including Nikita Khrushchev, Alexey Kosygin, Leonid Brezhnev, Mikhail Gorbachev, Boris Yeltsin…
President Putin has visited cities and states in the US such as New York, Texas, Maryland, Georgia and Maine. His last visit to the US was 10 years ago – in September 2015.
The exact meeting location of US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska remains unknown, according to the office of Governor Mike Dunleavy.
"No, it hasn't been announced yet. That information will be released by the White House later," a representative of the Alaska Governor's Office said in response to a question about whether his office knew where the meeting might take place.
The office also said the meeting was planned at the federal government level.
Ahead of the summit in Alaska, Director of the Russian Direct Investment Fund Kirill Dmitriev called for developing Russian-US cooperation in environmental protection, infrastructure and energy in the Arctic and beyond.
“Alaska – a land of “Russian-Americans”, famous for its fur crafts, and unique ecosystem. Let’s make it a place for developing cooperation, and turn the US into an Arctic country. Let’s develop Russian-American cooperation in the field of environmental protection, infrastructure and energy in the Arctic and beyond,” said the Director of the Russian Direct Investment Fund, President Putin’s special envoy for foreign investment.
Alaska is the 49th state of the United States, but this cold, resource-rich land originally belonged to Russia and only "changed ownership" after a deal more than 150 years ago.
After the Crimean War from 1853-1856, Russia suddenly decided to sell Alaska. At that time, the US and Russia were allies, so Russia came to the US to discuss the Alaska deal.
After discussions, the two sides closed the deal to buy the island at $7.2 million.
