In a significant geopolitical development, Russian President Vladimir Putin headed to Alaska for a crucial summit with U.
S. President Donald Trump.
The meeting is aimed at finding a potential resolution to Russia's relentless 42-month war on Ukraine. The summit, taking place at an air base near Anchorage, was a critical juncture for war-weary Ukrainians, Trump's peace-seeking ambitions, and Putin's endeavors to reshape Russia's global image.
According to American Military News, Ukrainian officials were conspicuously absent from the discussions, raising concerns among European leaders. These leaders, also excluded from the talks, expressed apprehension about potential agreements that could weaken Ukraine's position or undermine Europe's capacity to support Ukraine and counter Russian threats.
For Russians, the symbolism of Putin meeting on American soil, particularly on land once under Russian control, was seen as a minor triumph. Putin's international travel has been curtailed by a war crimes arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court, and his unprovoked war on Kyiv has led the West to ostracize him.
The direct negotiations with Washington, sidelining Ukraine, are reminiscent of the 1945 Yalta Conference, where the Soviet Union, the United States, and Britain effectively partitioned post-World War II Europe.
Trump, confident in his negotiation skills, expressed frustration over his inability to halt Russia's war, which has inflicted casualties on over a million Russian soldiers, as per Western estimates. Ukrainian casualties are also in the hundreds of thousands. "I am President, and he's not going to mess around with me," Trump declared to reporters at the White House on August 14.
He further added, "If it's a bad meeting, it'll end very quickly, and if it's a good meeting, we're going to end up getting peace in the pretty near future."
On August 14, Putin, who has officially met with five different presidents during his 25-year reign as Russia's dominant political figure, expressed optimism about the meeting during a discussion with top Kremlin officials. He hinted at a potential new arms control agreement. Putin acknowledged the White House's "quite energetic and sincere efforts to stop the hostilities" and to "reach agreements that are of interest to all parties involved."
The world's two largest nuclear arsenals, governed by a series of bilateral arms control treaties, have been collapsing due to discord between Washington and Moscow. The last significant one, New START, is due to expire next week.
Trump recently proposed a land swap between Moscow and Kyiv to end the conflict, the largest in Europe since World War II. This suggestion has caused considerable concern among Ukrainians, who currently occupy no Russian territory. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited London on the eve of the summit to garner support from British Prime Minister Keir Starmer. "We discussed in considerable detail the security guarantees that can make peace truly durable," he said.
Zelenskyy also visited Berlin earlier this week, where he participated in a video conference with several major European leaders who feared being marginalized.
This summit marks the first meeting between Trump and Putin since Trump's return to the White House in January, and their seventh overall. The two leaders have conversed over the phone at least five times since January, and the White House's lead envoy has visited Putin three times.
Login