Trump-Putin summit in Alaska: How the US Secret Service is preparing for high-stakes meeting

United States President Donald Trump is set to host Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska, a territory that Russia sold to America in 1867 for $7.2 million. The high-stakes summit on a military base on the outskirts of the city of Anchorage will be keenly watched across the world.

The two leaders are expected to discuss a possible ceasefire between Moscow and Kyiv, without the presence of Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy . The talks, which Trump has described as a “feel-out” meeting, have thrown a big security challenge as they came at short notice.

So, how is the American Secret Service preparing for the Alaska summit? We will explain.

Picking the venue for Trump-Putin summit

Putin will cross the Bering Sea, the narrow strait of water separating the US from Russia, to enter American soil on Friday (August 15) for the high-level meeting with Trump in Alaska.

The two leaders will hold talks at the US military’s Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska.

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However, this venue was not the first choice of the Secret Service for the much-anticipated summit. As per a Bloomberg report, the US agency, as well as the Russian consulate in New York, were seeking short-term rentals that could host Trump and Putin.

Beau Disbrow, a realtor in Anchorage, told the news agency, “Most of my short-term rentals were booked, but I did manage to put some of them into one home.”

It was finally decided to hold the summit, which Trump announced just a week ago, at Alaska's largest military installation .

“We’re in the height of tourist season, so hotels are tight, cars are tight,” Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy told Bloomberg Television on Thursday (August 14). “Having this on the base alleviates a lot of issues.”

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Earlier this week, the White House attempted to downplay the expectations for a peace deal, describing the meeting between Trump and Putin as a “listening exercise”.

How Secret Service is preparing for Trump-Putin summit

The US Secret Service had to be ready for Trump’s meeting with Putin in Alaska, also known as the Last Frontier, on short notice.

Speaking to NPR, Bill Gage, a former Secret Service special agent, said that the agency did not have to worry about “country clearances and visas and weapons permits” as it is a domestic trip for the American president. However, the agents still need to be ready for any adverse event.

“You know, Alaska is far away from the continental United States. They still have to plan for all sorts of eventualities - natural disasters, earthquake, volcanic eruptions, and the list goes on,” he added.

Alaska, a vast wilderness, is sparsely populated. Anchorage, where the summit will be held at 11:30 am local time (1 am IST), has limited hotel rooms and a small rental-car market.

After Trump announced the summit with Putin last week, the only agent deployed at the Secret Service’s post in Alaska started preparing for hundreds of reinforcements in the coming days, according to the Bloomberg report.

The US agency has a mighty task at hand: to protect both Trump and Putin.

With just a week for planning, the Secret Service had a lot on its plate. However, its job was made a bit easier as the meeting is on American soil. It can easily move weapons, communications equipment and medical gear without foreign constraints, four people familiar with the planning told the news agency.

The military base, the venue for the high-stakes meeting, boasts controlled airspace, fortified gates and quick access to military units.

Motorcade SUVs and other assets are arriving in Anchorage from other parts of the state. Hundreds of agents have reached the city.

The US State Department protocol is being adhered to to draw up the plan. Reciprocity rules dictate that every courtesy extended to one leader has to be followed for the other, officials said in a bilateral meeting.

“While Russian security will control Putin’s immediate movements while the Secret Service maintains an outer ring,” reported Bloomberg. 

Strict rules will be in place as Trump and Putin fly to Alaska. Neither side will be allowed to open the doors or ride in the other’s vehicle. “If 10 US agents are posted outside a meeting room, 10 Russian agents will stand on the other side. Everything is matched body for body, gun for gun”, one person said.

From the arrival motorcade to the presence of translators in the room, the reciprocity will be maintained in all moves. Each side will have its own language teams.

The US and Russia are also reportedly discussing the number and size of hold rooms, secure waiting areas for each leader.

The Secret Service is awaiting a green-light from Russia to formally approve the full security plan, the people told Bloomberg. 

“The safety of the President is our highest priority. In order to maintain operational security, the Secret Service does not discuss the specific means and methods used to conduct our protective operations,” the Secret Service said in a statement.

Downtown hotels are packed and rental car lots have been cleared for convoys. Agents in suits and earpieces are stationed at intersections, while others in plain clothes are at coffee shops and parking garages. “Alaska state troopers and local police are folded into motorcade routes that have been mapped down to the turn lane,” as per Bloomberg. 

The movement of the vehicles of Putin and Trump is being choreographed, so they are apart and fully protected.

With inputs from agencies