The summit between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska ended without any agreement. However, both sides positively assessed the contents of the discussions.
The two leaders of Russia (left) and the US met in Alaska.
The goal of creating a breakthrough in resolving the conflict in Ukraine has not been achieved, but the Alaska Summit has created a new and important beginning for the next enhanced dialogue process.
Some progress in dialogue has been achieved
The US-Russia Summit took place on August 15 in Anchorage, Alaska, USA. This was the first direct meeting between the two US and Russian leaders in four years and President Putin’s first visit to the US since 2015. Both sides showed goodwill for negotiations and public opinion expected the meeting to create a breakthrough, a turning point in efforts to end the conflict in Ukraine. However, no agreement was announced after the summit, which clearly reflects the complexity of US-Russia relations, as well as the conflict in Ukraine.
At the press conference after the summit, the two US and Russian leaders reiterated their respective views on the issues discussed and emphasized that the meeting took place in a positive and constructive atmosphere. According to President Trump, the two sides had a “very sincere” exchange and both “wanted to see progress being made” on issues related to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), security and territory… Mr. Trump stated that while no final results or agreements had been reached, the two sides had made some progress, with many points of consensus. Mr. Trump said that he would continue to discuss with the leaders of Ukraine, NATO and other parties, aiming to take advantage of the results of the Alaska Summit to reach an agreement to end the conflict in Ukraine.
At the press conference, also assessing the “very effective meeting”, President Putin reiterated that a high-level agreement between Russia and the US was very important, paving the way towards peace in Ukraine. Sharing his US counterpart’s view that “Ukraine’s security must be ensured”, Putin made it clear that the situation in Ukraine is linked to fundamental threats to Russia’s security. And in order to reach a comprehensive and lasting agreement, all the root causes, the main reasons for the conflict, must be eliminated.
Speaking at the Kremlin on August 16 to announce the results of the Alaska Summit, President Putin reiterated that the meeting was timely and very useful, the exchange was frank and informative, and that the necessary solutions had been reached. According to President Putin, the focus of the summit was on finding a “fair solution” to the conflict in Ukraine and that eliminating the root causes of the conflict must be the basis for an agreement. The Alaska Summit is a good opportunity for Moscow to present its views in detail.
US aims for comprehensive Russia-Ukraine peace
A day after the Alaska Summit, President Trump had phone calls with European leaders, in which he expressed his desire to hold a trilateral conference between the US, Russia and Ukraine as soon as possible, possibly this week. President Trump also had a phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. US media quoted diplomatic sources as saying that US and European leaders want to have another summit with the Russian President, including the Ukrainian President.
President Trump is also expected to abandon efforts to promote a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine, and instead, aim for a comprehensive peace agreement. This adjustment of goals is considered a concrete result of the Alaska Summit. Mr. Trump believes that the best way to end the conflict is to move straight to a peace agreement, because the ceasefire agreement is not sustainable.
Meanwhile, the German leader has proposed holding a trilateral US-Russia-Ukraine summit in Europe. In an interview with NTV and RTL, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said that such a trilateral meeting is necessary and Germany proposed finding a location in Europe to hold it. However, the time and location need to be agreed upon and Mr. Merz did not name a specific city or location.
Many countries have welcomed the US-Russia summit in Alaska, emphasizing that this is a new beginning for further negotiations towards ending the conflict in Ukraine.