Anchorage, Alaska (AP) – President of the United States Donald Trump Meet the Russian President face to face Vladimir Putin On Friday in Alaska, for a high-stakes summit that will determine not only the trajectory of war in Ukraine, but also the fate of European security.
The sit-in offers Trump the opportunity to prove to the world that he is a master deal maker and a global peace superintendent. He and his allies cast him as a heavyweight negotiator. End the massacre – What he was proud of was boasting about what he could do right away.
For Putin, the summit with Trump offers a long-standing opportunity to solidify Russia’s interests, join the NATO military alliance, and negotiate a deal that blocks Kiev’s bid to ultimately bring Ukraine back to Moscow’s orbit.
Trump has serious risks. By bringing Putin into US soil, the president is giving Russian leaders the verification they want after his banishment after his invasion of Ukraine three and a half years ago. Exclusion of the President of Ukrainian Volodymyr Zelenskyy The summit will hit the Western policy of “no Ukraine and nothing about Ukraine” and will likely cause Trump to agree to a deal Ukraine doesn’t want.
Success is not certain, especially as Russia and Ukraine are very different in their demands for peace. Putin has long resisted a temporary ceasefire, leading Ukraine’s efforts to mobilize it to a halt of Western military supply, a condition rejected by Kiev and its western allies.
Trump said it was even more important than his summit with Putin. This was a subsequent meeting, including Zelensky, and it is possible that Russia disagreed with what he proposed before he left Alaska.
Trump said in an interview with Fox News Radio on Thursday that he didn’t know if they would get a “immediate ceasefire,” but that he wanted a wide range of peace deals to be made quickly. At first glance, it appears to reflect Putin’s long-standing debate. Russia supports a comprehensive deal to end the battle, and reflects its demands, not a temporary halt to hostilities.
The Kremlin said Trump and Putin will first sit for a one-on-one discussion, with talks going on about a two-delegation meeting and “working breakfast.” They are expected to hold a joint press conference afterwards.
Trump provided a changing explanation for his meeting goals
On the day he set up a military base near Anchorage, leading up to the summit, Trump said it “.” A truly pleasant meeting. “But he is also warned. “Very serious consequences” If Putin doesn’t agree to end the war, for Russia, Putin may be bullying other leaders, but he said, “He’s not going to ruin me.”
Trump’s repeated proposal that the deal likely includes a controversial history with Putin with “several exchanges of territory” that disappointed Ukraine and European allies, is skeptical of what agreement could be reached.
“There’s no benefit for the US, and it’s just the opposite for Putin,” said Ian Kelly, a retired career foreign secretary who served as US ambassador for Georgia during Obama and the first Trump administration.
“There’s nothing the best that can happen, and the worst that can happen is Putin urges Trump to put more pressure on Zelensky,” Kelly said.
George Beebe, former director of the CIA’s Russian Analytics Team, said he is currently at the Quincy Institute for Responsible Three-Dimensional Technology, saying the serious risk of expectations and misunderstandings about a high-level summit has been compiled very quickly.
“That being said, I don’t think President Trump will be in a meeting like this unless there’s enough work done behind the scenes.
Zelenskyy has repeatedly questioned Putin’s willingness to negotiate in good faith. His European allies, who have held increasingly urgent meetings with US leaders over the past week, emphasize the need for Ukraine to be involved in peace negotiations.
Meanwhile, political commentators in Moscow are pleased that the summit will leave Ukraine and its European allies on the sidelines.
Dmitry Suslov, voice of the Prokremlin, expressed his hope that the summit will “deepen the rifts of the transatlantic and weaken Europe’s status as Russia’s toughest enemy.”
European leaders who consulted with Trump this week said the president assured them that they would prioritize in an attempt to achieve a ceasefire.
Summits can have broad meaning
Foreign governments are looking closely to see how Trump reacts to Putin. Perhaps it could measure what interaction means for their own dealings with the US president, who shunned traditional diplomacy due to his own trading approach to relationships.
The meeting comes as the war caused great losses on both sides and exhausted resources.
Ukraine has been detained much longer than initially expected since the February 2022 invasion, but has thwarted much larger Russian troops, worked on city fires, fighting for every inch on the frontline of over 600 miles (1,000 km).
Andrea Kendall Taylor, senior fellow and director of the Trans-Atlantic Security Program at the New American Security Center, said US antagonists like China, Iran and North Korea will pay attention to Trump’s stance and see “whether or not the threat to Putin is actually reliable.”
“Or, if any, if it’s past track record, he will continue to step back and look for ways to shake up from the kind of threats and pressure he has promised to apply.”
Some people opposed the location of the summit, but Trump said he thought Putin was “very respectful” to come to the US instead of a meeting in Russia.
Sergei Markov, a Moscow-based analyst based in the Prokremlin, observed that Alaska’s choice as a venue for the summit “emphasizes distance from Europe and Ukraine.”
Being at a military base allows leaders to avoid protests and meet more safely, but the location brings its own importance for its history and location.
Alaska, purchased by the United States from Russia in 1867, separates the International Date line from just three miles (less than five kilometers) from Russia at its nearest point.
Joint base Elmendorf Richardson was important to counter the Soviet Union during the Cold War. Airplanes from the base continue to play a role today as they intercept Russian aircraft regularly dive into US airspace.
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Wysert reported from Washington. Associated Press writers Matthew Lee in Washington and Vladimir Isachenkov of Moscow contributed to the report.
