The talks between the heads of state of the two most powerful nations in the world have always been a widely watched event. This time, too, it was no different. The meeting drew global attention – from Washington and Moscow to Europe, Ukraine, and even New Delhi because its outcome could determine whether India faces steeper US tariffs on key imports, including Russian oil.
Trump rolled out the red carpet on Friday for Putin, who was in the US for the first time in a decade. At one point, due to changing geopolitical circumstances, a meeting between Trump and Putin appeared very unlikely. For Putin, it was a remarkable moment. Since the Russia-Ukraine conflict in 2022, Putin has almost become a persona non grata for most of the Western nations. In a sudden twist, from being hated by Western nations, to being welcomed on US soil like a partner and friend, Putin has covered a long distance.
The talks between Trump and Putin in Alaska on Friday, which mainly centred on Ukraine, have conveyed the message that Putin just can’t be ignored. While it was expected that the US would make a hard bargain with Russia to pull back from Ukraine, that did not happen. On the contrary, the US President has only made the Russian task easier. Trump said that Ukraine should make a deal to end the war with Russia because “Russia is a very big power, and they’re not”.
Though Trump and Putin said the talks were “productive”, the lack of any announcement of solid achievements was revealing. The meeting helped Putin justify his claim on Ukrainian territories.Trump, instead of convincing Putin to pull back Russian forces from the occupied Ukrainian territories, has told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy that Putin had offered to freeze most front lines if Kyiv ceded all of Donetsk, the industrial region that is one of Moscow’s main targets.
Trump agreed with Putin that a peace deal should be sought without the prior ceasefire that Ukraine and its European allies had demanded.
That was a change from his position before the summit, when Trump said he would not be happy unless a ceasefire was agreed on. Several European leaders on Saturday jointly pledged to continue to support Ukraine and maintain pressure on Russia until the war in Ukraine ends. The European nations made it clear that it would be up to Ukraine to make decisions on its territory and that international borders must not be changed by force. Whether the meeting helps in ending the Russia-Ukraine conflict is still not very clear, but the fact remains that Putin has managed to hold on to his stand.