VLADIMIR Putin will jet to Alaska for a historic summit with President Trump on Friday to seek an end to the war – but he does so as a wanted criminal.

The International Criminal Court (ICC) slapped him with an arrest warrant in 2023 over allegations of war crimes – so the “billion-dollar question” is: can Putin be cuffed in Alaska?

Putin would in theory be nabbed if he were to visit any of 125 countries around the world – including the UK, France, Germany and Canada.

Hamish de Bretton-Gordon told The Sun that the United States is among the minority of countries which does not recognise the rule of the ICC.

The States sit among the ranks of Russia, China, Pakistan and a handful of others in disregarding the framework.

This means that, unlike most nations, the US “is not bound to arrest Putin”.

De Bretton-Gordon said: “He can roam around the world, in theory, in any countries that are not members of the ICC.

“A warrant from the ICC means nothing in those countries that are not signatories to it.

“And the Americans aren’t, so – he can go to Alaska.

“That is the loophole. He can operate exactly how he sees fit. He wouldn’t have gone anywhere where potentially he could be arrested.”

So the Kremlin can be confident that their leader will be leaving the Arctic state in his own plane – and trotting the globe without any threat of repercussions.

But de-Bretton Gordon insisted the Russians will not be relying on assumptions, and that Putin will be leaving nothing to chance with his visit.

He said: “Trump will have given Putin some cast iron agreement he won’t be arrested for the criminal proceedings against him.”

There are a few other reasons Putin is likely chuffed with Alaska as the meeting point, according to the security expert.

He said: “President Putin is absolutely fixated about his own security, and his desire not to wander out of friendly airspace.

“There’s not much of that to Alaska – would only be in international airspace for a few miles.”

It also means Russian power is making a return to the territory once owned by the Tsardom of Russia.

Putin’s distant predecessor Tsar Alexander II sold it to America in 1867 for $7.2 million — or two cents per acre.

And the Great State of Alaska is also a very long way away from Europe, and all the pesky diplomats who have got under Putin’s skin.

The choice of location for meetings between rival superpowers carries enormous significance.

Many times, the charged encounters have been backdropped by Washington or Moscow – as well as Geneva, Vienna and even a Soviet cruise ship.

But Alaskan officials are delighted that their icy land will for the first time host a superpower summit.

Its geographical location automatically makes it a logical option, placed as it is directly between the US and the expanse of eastern Russia.

You can even see Russian territory while standing on Alaskan soil – if you stand on the island of Little Diomede and look out to Big Diomede.

Mike Dunleavy, the Republican governor there since 2018, posted on X: “Alaska is the most strategic location in the world, sitting at the crossroads of North America and Asia, with the Arctic to our north and the Pacific to our south.

“A mere two miles separating Russia from Alaska, no other place plays a more vital role in our national defence, energy security, and Arctic leadership.”

Russian media predictably hailed the meeting as a triumph for Putin and a blow for Zelensky – who appears to have been excluded.

But there is cause for Trump to celebrate the location of the summit as well.

It’s significant that Putin is making the journey to America, rather than him travelling the other way – despite the seven or so hours it will take him from Washington in Air Force One.

As host, he enjoyed the the privilege of announcing the meeting on his treasured Truth Social.

An exact venue for the summit was yet to be confirmed as of Monday, with officials still scrambling to finalize the details.