Alaskans hope for a successful summit in Anchorage between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, former lieutenant governor of Alaska Mead Treadwell told TASS. “If this summit can begin a new era of peace, it will be a sigh of relief for the world and, perhaps, a renewal of constructive engagement among people of the Arctic,” said Treadwell, who was Alaska lieutenant governor in 2010-2014, and chaired the U.S. Arctic Research Commission in 2006-2010. Although not mentioned by TASS, Treadwell has also been a supporter of the Bering Strait Tunnel project.
“All Alaskans I know hope for peace as a result. Modern wars should be avoidable, and whatever side you’re on, it is time to end this tragedy,” he noted, referring to the Ukraine conflict. “There have been many times in recent years we have dreamed that an Arctic summit might kindle cooperation in the North. We have reasons to cooperate, especially to protect people and the fish and marine mammals of the Bering Sea and the people who rely on them. There is much important science to be done.”
“In the past, we have worked together across the Bering Strait on allowing families to see each other, coordinate search and rescue, promote shipping safety, advance eco-tourism, and at least twice, Russian icebreakers have been deployed to help Alaska free whales (1988) and deliver fuel to Nome (2012),” he added.
