‘I wish Zelensky would be out here too’ – Alaskans on their hopes for Friday’s meetingpublished at 08:56 British Summer Time
Jake Lapham
Reporting from Anchorage, Alaska
Don Cressley is visiting nearby Ship Creek on a fishing trip with his grandson
Ahead of the summit, I took a wander down to Ship Creek in Anchorage – just a few miles from the military base where Trump and Putin are planning to meet.
It’s known as one of the best spots to catch Alaska’s renowned salmon.
Don Cressley, who lives in the Alaskan city of North Pole and is visiting on a fishing trip with his grandson, says: “I think it’s a good idea [the summit], I wish Zelensky would
be out here too… get this thing over with.”
He wants an end to the war “because of the destruction they’re
doing to all the cities, all the buildings, making everybody more homeless,
taking their foods away, their supplies away, their living right away”.
Donald Trump, he says, is doing an “awesome job” in
ceasefire negotiations.
A little further downstream I come across Russell Wilson, who has
lived in Anchorage for decades.
I ask him how it feels to have this historic meeting come to his
hometown. “It’s the middle of everything, Russia’s our neighbour, so it only
makes sense to have it here,” he tells me as he fishes.
“I just hope it brings an end to the war for both sides, and if
not, hopefully we keep supporting Ukraine.”
date:2025-08-15 08:37:00