Alaska lawmakers react to Trump-Putin summit
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (NBC, KYMA/KECY) - Lawmakers in Alaska are reacting to the Trump-Putin summit in the state, including Governor Mike Dunleavy (R-Alaska), who dispelled rumors he is considering selling Russian-Alaska minerals to help broker a deal to end the war in Ukraine.
After meeting with President Donald Trump Friday, Governor Dunleavy says there is no truth to a British newspaper's report saying Alaska's rare minerals would be used to make a peace deal with Russia.
"And so we asked for clarification and the folks in the plan, including the president's people, dispel those myths. But that's not what was happening," Dunleavy explained.
"We're right across the Bering Strait, and we're powerful, and one final thing as I mentioned to the president this morning, having this in Alaska is a good reminder to the Russians that Americans are good negotiators," said Senator Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska).
While Senator Sullivan said he stressed Alaska's role in national security to President Trump aboard Air Force Once, given the state's history with Russia, in a CNN interview, in the middle of the summit, Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) said the path towards peace, in her view, is still ongoing.
"I don't see the two of them coming together in a chummy way and saying, 'We got to win.'...So how do both of them claim a little bit of advantage here? And that's that's the great unknown," Senator Murkowski shared.
"There has to be a future summit, there has to be a resolution of this conflict, and resolution of conflicts of this nature only happen when you have conversations with each other," said Rep. Nick Begich (R-Alaska).
Beyond the resolution, Congressman Begich says there were also important energy conversations with the president.
"With respect to the backdrop of China and China's weaponization of their resources. People want to be close to the United States. They know that it's important to build an economic relationship in addition to a national security relationship," Begich remarked.
