It only makes sense that we’ve met here, because our countries though separated by the ocean are close neighbors,” Putin said in Anchorage.

President Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin are scheduled to meet Friday at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska, to discuss the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.

As the leaders of the United States and Russia met on Anchorage’s Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson on Friday, supporters of Ukraine’s defense against Russia’s invasion staged multiple demonstrations in Alaska to protest the meeting and what they predicted would be capitulation to Russian goals.