It was a welcome tailored for a close friend, not a war criminal, and it looked to the Ukrainians like their nightmare.

Few details have been released but the White House press secretary says the meeting will be a “listening exercise." Meanwhile, Anchorage progressives plan protests this week.

President Richard M. Nixon and Emperor Hirohito of Japan meet Sept. 26, 1971, in Anchorage, in the home of Gen. Robert George Ruegg, commander in chief of the Alaskan Command at Elmendorf Air Force Base. It was the first-ever meeting of a U.S. president and a Japanese monarch. (Anchorage Times photo)

The highly anticipated meeting between US President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in the US state of Alaska will take place in the city of Anchorage, the White House said on Tuesday.