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‘The crossroads of the world’ – One America News Network

An aerial view of downtown Anchorage, Alaska, with the Chugach Mountains in the background, on August 14, 2025, ahead of the August 15 scheduled meeting between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin. Trump on Thursday acknowledged his high-stakes summit with Vladimir Putin may fail, and said any Ukraine deal would come through a future three-way meeting with Kyiv to "divvy things up." Russian President Vladimir Putin flies to Alaska on Friday at the invitation of Trump in his first visit to a Western country since he ordered the 2022 invasion of Ukraine that has killed tens of thousands of people. (Photo by Drew ANGERER / AFP) (Photo by DREW ANGERER/AFP via Getty Images)
An aerial view of downtown Anchorage, Alaska, with the Chugach Mountains in the background, on August 14, 2025, ahead of the August 15 scheduled meeting between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin. (DREW ANGERER/AFP via Getty Images)

OAN Staff Blake Wolf
12:22 PM – Thursday, August 14, 2025

Anchorage, Alaska Mayor Suzanne LaFrance, an Independent, has announced that the city is “prepared and ready” for President Donald Trump’s high-stakes meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin — which is scheduled for Friday this week.

Mayor LaFrance emphasized that her administration is standing by to provide any assistance that may be needed.

Multiple local news outlets have reported that the meeting is set to be held at the Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, citing unidentified White House sources.

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The Elmendorf-Richardson Joint Base was created by merging the Elmendorf Air Force Base and the Army Fort Richardson Base in 2010. The base played a key role in monitoring and deterring the Soviet Union during the Cold War, due to its strategic proximity. The base was equipped with early warning radar sites to detect any potential Soviet nuclear launches, earning the moniker “Top Cover for North America” at the time.

“We’ll be prepared and ready for whatever we need to support. And we’re working closely with the governor’s office and the White House and the military to ensure that we are fully prepared to host this event and any other future events as well,” LaFrance stated.

“There’s certainly excitement being on the global stage and a lot of attention worldwide. And there’s curiosity too. And there’s also pride about our community, pride about our state, and this opportunity to be the venue for such an important meeting,” she continued.

“Anchorage is the crossroads of the world, and we are a strategic global location in so many ways. For our closeness to the Arctic, for our military presence, we have like 25,000 active duty personnel here in Alaska, for trade, for cargo, our cargo airport is one of the busiest in the world.”

The meeting between Trump and Putin has the potential to lead to the end of the Russia-Ukraine war, which has raged on for over three years, taking hundreds of thousands of lives.

“Like so many other people, I am hopeful that this meeting will lead to peace and an end to the war,” LaFrance added. “I’m also optimistic that this will highlight the importance of Alaska, the importance of Anchorage as a global crossroads and as a city that is strategically important. The coordination is ongoing and my teams continue to communicate with the White House and the Governor’s office and the military and also the university and the school district, too.”

Meanwhile, local hotels and rental property prices have skyrocketed as members of the media and government officials look to orbit the high-stakes meeting between the two world leaders.

“We are getting tons of requests. We are very full, but we are obviously trying to accommodate folks where we can. We do have some media outlets that are planning to use some of our event space and decks for broadcasting on Friday,” stated Rachel Barinbaum, vice president of the company that owns the Wildbirch Hotel, located in downtown Anchorage.

“We’ve certainly been contacted by a lot of people, whether it’s government or media … but lots of interest, for sure,” she added.

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