A foreign policy expert has warned that U.S. President Donald Trump’s “astonishing U-turn” in agreeing to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss ending the war in Ukraine is an “alarming development.”
Nigel Gould-Davies, senior fellow for Russia and Eurasia at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, told The Associated Press that the “symbology” of hosting the summit in Alaska was significant, noting that the location “naturally favors Russia.”
“It’s easy to picture Putin making the argument and We once had this territory and gave it to you, so Ukraine should now hand over its territory to us,” he said, referencing the 1867 Alaska Purchase, when Russia sold the land to the United States for $7.2 million.
