U.S. President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin concluded their most momentous summit to date on Friday without a ceasefire agreement in Ukraine, although both considered that the meeting served to bring positions closer and the possibility of agreements in other areas of cooperation.
The talks took place at Elmendorf-Richardson Air Force Base outside Anchorage, Alaska, for more than three hours and, according to Trump, were “extremely productive,” although they did not result in concrete announcements.
Trump, who is not in the habit of denying questions to the press, abruptly ended a brief joint appearance with Putin that was also attended by a large group of Russian journalists.
“There were a lot of points that we agreed on, most of them. There are a couple of big issues left that we haven’t quite gotten to, but we’ve made progress. But there’s no agreement until there’s agreement,” assured Trump, who reiterated that he would immediately talk to NATO partners to tell them what was discussed with Putin.
“Sooner or later we have to amend this situation and move from confrontation to dialogue. In this case, a personal meeting between two heads of state was long overdue and after a lot of work, President Trump and I have had very good direct contact,” Putin assured.
Putin’s opening
The Russian president said he was open to a resolution of the conflict in Ukraine, which Russia escalated in February 2022 with the invasion of a large part of Ukrainian territory and the occupation of the country’s eastern provinces, but only if it takes into account “our legitimate concerns and restores the security balance in Europe.”
After announcing only a few days in advance this expected meeting between the two leaders, the White House and Trump himself lowered expectations of concrete progress, as Trump wanted to “see” and “listen” to Putin to assess whether it was possible to move towards a ceasefire in Ukraine that would not involve commitments to cede territories, a red line for Kiev.
Trump spoke before the Alaska meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymir Zelensky and his European partners, who feared that this international legitimization of Putin would go so far as to allow him to secure territorial concessions in occupied Donbas.
Historic encounter in Alaska
This was the first time a Russian president had set foot on Alaskan territory, a Russian excolony for nearly a hundred years, and a strategic location for the Arctic dominance contested by Russia and the United States.
Although Trump initially wanted this meeting – the first since 2019 between the two – to be spent mostly privately, the three-hour discussion included Secretary of State Marco Rubio and envoy Steven Witkoff.
On the Russian side, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Kremlin international policy advisor Yuri Ushakov took part, which is evidence of the economic significance of the talks.
For the military stationed at Elmendorf-Richardson (over 30,000 people) this summit has been one of the most surreal chapters of their lives.
With several Russian military aircraft landing and taking off, aerial coordination with counterparts on both sides of the Bering Strait otherwise seen as enemies, and Putin’s limousine with Moscow plates driving in front of them.
“I have never experienced anything like it. A presidential visit, plus a summit…and with Russia,” a military officer at the base told EFE.
Trump received the presidential plane with a fighter escort, a long red carpet leading to a podium flanked by F-22 fighters. To add drama to the scene, a B-2 strategic bomber made a low-level pass over the Russian leader, who had to look at the powerful image.
It is a sign that with Trump there are no inviolable rules of protocol, the American invited Putin to get into the presidential limousine, ‘the Beast’, for a stretch in which they appeared to converse animatedly and privately.
This first step in the complicated relationship between Washington and Moscow concluded with Putin, who has emerged from his international isolation at this summit, speaking a little English: “Next time in Moscow.” “It’s a little difficult, but we can make it,” Trump shooed him (EFE).
For more information, visit QuéOnnda.com.
