In a high-stakes summit in Alaska, Donald Trump failed to secure a ceasefire from Vladimir Putin, despite threats of 'serious consequences.' The meeting, which was expected to address the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, ended with no significant breakthroughs. Putin's insistence on addressing the 'fundamental causes' of the conflict suggests a refusal to recognize Ukraine's sovereignty. The summit, marked by symbolic gestures and a lack of concrete outcomes, highlights the ongoing geopolitical tensions.
Putin Outmaneuvers Trump in Alaska Summit
Putin Outmaneuvers Trump in Alaska Summit
It was evident even with the sound off. Who had a good day in Alaska? It wasn't Donald Trump, writes Mats Larsson, Expressen's foreign editor.
Let's start with the positive. The summit between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin in Alaska could have ended with a deal that Ukraine would have had to accept.
That was Ukraine's nightmare before the meeting. But it didn't happen.
However, it's also clear that Donald Trump didn't get what he wanted. He had threatened 'serious consequences' before the meeting if Putin didn't agree to a ceasefire.
Trump claimed he could read Putin in moments and was ready to walk away if he felt he wasn't getting anywhere.
He should have done just that. There was no ceasefire. And nothing suggests he got Putin to change his stance on the war in Ukraine.
The key words came after the three-hour meeting when Putin and Trump faced the press. It was Putin who uttered them.
Trump claimed that the two had an 'extremely productive meeting' and 'we have agreed on a lot,' but gave no real details.
So extremely productive it couldn't have been since Putin continued to emphasize that 'the fundamental causes' of the conflict must be eliminated.
This is essentially code for Putin refusing to accept an independent, free Ukraine that determines its own fate. Decides the size of its army. Decides who governs the country.
We still don't know the details of how the talks actually went or what they discussed. Some will likely leak out when Trump speaks with Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky and his NATO allies.
At best for Ukraine, Trump will realize he is getting nowhere with Putin and will truly act on his talk of 'serious consequences.'
At worst, Trump has once again bought into Putin's arguments and is putting increased pressure on Zelensky. His statement afterward in an interview with Fox News is undeniably ominous:
- It is now up to President Zelensky to get this sorted.
However, Trump took no questions from the press after the meeting. A telling sign that this didn't go as he hoped.
But Trump still gave the meeting a ten because he 'gets along so well' with Putin.
A ten is also guaranteed what Putin gives the meeting. The images from Alaska will be very useful to him, especially at home.
Even those who followed the TV broadcasts from Alaska with the sound off would have concluded that Putin was the winner in this meeting.
Like the red carpet rolled out for the man indicted for war crimes by the International Criminal Court in The Hague. An internationally wanted war criminal.
Putin has always sought to be treated as an equal by the US. Great powers deciding the world's fate.
Trump even met him with applause. Literally. He also let Putin travel in the presidential limousine - The Beast - on the way to the meeting, a very rare honor.
Perhaps Trump thought all this would make Putin more amenable. It doesn't seem to have worked.
This summit took place on very short notice, and no one expected a breakthrough. Changes occurred until the last moment.
For example, it was said that Trump and Putin would meet alone, but instead, there were three from each side, including the foreign ministers.
Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov - who arrived before Putin - raised many eyebrows with his Soviet CCCP shirt. Undeniably a provocation for Ukrainians.
It was during Soviet times that Ukrainians were starved to death in a deliberate policy by Joseph Stalin and the leaders in Moscow. About five million died.
Not much was known about it in the outside world, and it took decades before the extent became known. But Ukrainians knew, they remember.
Putin's goal is to win his war, cripple Ukraine, and effectively turn it back into a vassal state. Nothing suggests that Trump has succeeded in changing his mind.