Good words but no tangible result. The anticipated Achorage summit among the presidents of the United States, and Russia, Vladimir Putin, thrown with all pomp, circumstance and red carpet to receive the Russian, concluded after two and a half hours almost in deaf:. Nor without the commitment of a trilateral that includes the Ukrainian leader, Volodimir Zelenski, much less a high fire. But the two leaders have expressed interest in being “soon” and have described the “productive” contacts. And Trump has declared that although now he has not achieved “the most important”, he believes that he can end up getting. His Russian interlocutor, who has made it clear that he does not yield in his positions, has pointed out that the next appointment could take place in Moscow.
In a way, the meeting at the base of the MENDORF-RICHARDSON, on the outskirts of the North of Anchorage, in Alaska, has ended everyone’s taste. Putin has achieved what he wanted from this encounter about all things: the photo with the US president, on American soil and with the US planes and soldiers paying him pleitesia: a demonstration to the world that the status of international pariah in which it had remained since the beginning of the large -scale invasion of Ukraine, in February 2022.
For his part, Trump promotes the image he seeks as a statesman in pursuit of La Paz. Thousands of kilometers, President Ukraine, and Europeans can sigh from relief: there is no trilateral summit on the horizon, but neither have the two leaders reach an agreement that presses kyiv to accept the loss of territories or other unacceptable peace conditions for her. The latter was the great fear in Ukraine and in the European capitals: to take advantage of the face to face to convince the American about his demands of Ukrainian territory.
“We have closed many points. There are only a few earrings. Some are not too important. One is probably the most important, although we have good chances of getting it. We have not achieved it, but we have a good possibility of achieving it” in the future, the American declared.
If their words described reality, or they were a mere attempt to put good face to bad weather, it is not clear. The Republican had anticipated that it would be enough for him just a few minutes to determine if the Russian was serious when he talked about peace or simply went to lantern to gain time. In that case, he said, he would return home and holy Easter, but Putin would have to face “serious consequences.”
The summit has not lasted a few minutes, but its duration of two and a half hours has been shorter than expected in the informal programs that the White House handled, and much shorter of the six or seven hours that the Kremlin had anticipated. Although the details about what has elapsed are still confusing, the meeting seems to have been limited to its first part: the conversation between the two leaders almost alone, accompanied only by those outdoors. There have been no broader negotiations with the rest of the respective delegations, or work lunch. Even Trump’s statements have been shorter than the American accustoms when he appears before the press.
None of the leaders accepted questions in their joint speech before the media. The Russian president was the one who first took the floor, to emphasize that the two countries are “neighbors” and share “a wide common cultural heritage.” As he said, by greeting Trump upon his arrival he greeted him “as a neighbor”, “with warm words” and expressing his satisfaction to see him again.
“We have worked with President Trump a very good working relationship and trust. I have all the reasons to consider that, if we continue this way, we can reach as soon as possible at the end of the conflict,” Putin said, in a more extensive intervention than that of his host.
And it made it clear that one centimeter has not moved from the positions it brought, and that they are the same since the beginning of the invasion. He expressed his hope that “the understanding we have achieved here helps us to approach peace in Ukraine” and reiterated that “Russia sincerely wants to end the conflict” in the occupied country. But – and here the great obstacle – “all the causes of the root of the conflict have to be resolved.” For Putin, resolving these causes is to definitely block any kyiv aspiration to enter NATO; limit the western armament from which your neighbor can arrange; and definitely put the provinces of Luhansk and Donetsk under their control, including the areas under the control of the Ukrainian forces. Something that the Ukrainian leader, Volodimir Zelenski, and European allies reject sharply.
Putin also launched a call to kyiv and his European partners. I hoped that “they take all this constructively, and that they do not begin to put obstacles or try to stop with provocations and machinations between the scenes the progress we have achieved.”
The Russian ended his statements with a provocative invitation: “Next time, in Moscow?”, He pointed, throwing a glove that Trump did not want to disregard completely. “It’s an interesting proposal,” he replied. “They can make me a little green for it, but it is something that I can imagine that it happens.” A little later, the two presidents took off the military base back to their respective capitals. First the Russian left. Almost immediately the American followed him.
Trump’s next step, for the moment, was going to be a round of calls. First to Zelenski, to inform him of what was treated at the meeting. Then, to the European leaders, who over the last days had launched a diplomatic deployment, from a Chevening encounter, the rest residence of the British Foreign Minister, with vice president JD Vance and other high positions of the United States, to a videoconference with Trump himself, to prevent the former KGB agent from persuading with his arguments to his arguments to the white house. Trump stood out in his statements that will correspond to Ukraine and the Russian decide which proposals want to plant to end the war.
The Anchorage meeting was the seventh between both leaders, but the first of an American president with the Tenant of the Kremlin since the beginning of the Russian large -scale invasion of Ukraine more than three and a half years ago.
The meeting had begun surrounded by expectation, with a warm handshake between them at the foot of the trail in the military base. Both had wanted to flaunt tune, with smiles and greetings while they toured the red carpet towards a podium where they posed for the official photos of the greeting.
