WASHINGTON − The summit meeting between President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin will focus on ending Putin's war in Ukraine, with Alaska's awesome beauty and vulnerabilities as its backdrop.
The two world leaders will meet at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, the post that crowns Anchorage to its south. It’s an installation that teems with airmen and soldiers − plenty of moose and bears, too, befitting its location on the edge of Alaska’s vast stretches of black spruce-fringed wilderness.
Cold, dark and snowy in the winter, the base gets near round-the-clock sun at summer’s peak.
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It’s a prime midway rest stop for dignitaries, like presidents and cabinet secretaries, on the route from Washington to eastern Asia. The flight from the East Coast to the southern coast of Alaska takes roughly eight hours, about the limit for air crews before mandated rest, and a convenient, secure location to refuel.
