Swedish economist Anders Åslund warns that the upcoming Trump-Putin meeting in Alaska could spell disaster for the U.S., drawing parallels to historical diplomatic failures. U.S. Vice President JD Vance dismisses Åslund's concerns, citing his track record of inaccuracies. Åslund advocates for increased support for Ukraine, contrasting with the Trump administration's approach.
JD Vance Dismisses Swedish Economist's Critique on Trump-Putin Alaska Summit
JD Vance Dismisses Swedish Economist's Critique on Trump-Putin Alaska Summit
Economist Anders Åslund warns that the Trump-Putin meeting in Alaska could be disastrous for the U.S. U.S. Vice President JD Vance counters the criticism, stating that Åslund has been wrong on nearly every major issue over the past 30 years.
On Friday, the presidents of the U.S. and Russia will meet in Alaska to discuss ending the war in Ukraine.
The Washington-based Swedish economist and Russia analyst Anders Åslund believes that Donald Trump should not meet Vladimir Putin.
On the platform X, Åslund writes:
"Whatever Trump does in Alaska is likely to be a major disaster for the U.S., worse than Munich 1938 or Yalta 1945 due to his anti-democratic and imperialist views and his ignorance."
The Munich Conference of 1938 has come to symbolize the appeasement policy towards Hitler before World War II, while the Yalta Conference of 1945 was followed by the Soviet Union turning Eastern European countries into satellite states.
"Wrong on Almost Every Issue"
U.S. Vice President JD Vance is unimpressed by the Swede's criticism. On X, Vance writes about Åslund:
"A person who has been wrong on nearly every major issue over the past 30 years is angry at the U.S. president for engaging in diplomacy."
Anders Åslund responds in Vance's own thread on X:
"While you support anti-democratic movements in Germany and Romania, I support freedom, democracy, free markets, NATO, and the West. Do you think that's wrong?"
Believes in Ukrainian Victory
Anders Åslund has a completely different view from the Trump administration on the conflict. He believes that Ukraine can win the war with significantly increased military and economic support, funded by, among other things, seized Russian assets worth $300 billion.
According to Åslund, the upcoming Alaska meeting is also based on false premises, as Trump's envoy in Moscow, Steve Witkoff, is said to have misunderstood Putin's conditions for peace in Ukraine when they met in the Kremlin last week.
After Witkoff's and Putin's meeting, Trump suggested that Russia would be willing to withdraw from the Ukrainian regions of Zaporizhzhia and Kherson in exchange for control over Donetsk. However, according to the German newspaper Bild, the Russian proposal actually meant that Ukraine would withdraw from Zaporizhzhia and Kherson.