Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy explained what he saw as the symbolism of the high-stakes meeting being in his state.

Before Trump and Putin hold a highly-anticipated summit in Alaska to discuss Moscow’s war on Ukraine, experts emphasize the historical significance of this location.

But beyond making the U.S. and Russia neighbors, Alaska has been the site of both cooperation and conflict between the two nations beginning, in part, with the purchase of the 49th state from the Russian empire.