US President Donald Trump was to meet face-to-face with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska yesterday for a high-stakes summit that could determine not only the trajectory of the war in Ukraine, but also the fate of European security.
The sit-down offers Trump a chance to prove to the world that he is a master dealmaker and a global peacemaker.
For Putin, a summit with Trump offers a long-sought opportunity to try to negotiate a deal that would cement Russia’s gains, block Kyiv’s bid to join NATO and eventually pull Ukraine back into Moscow’s orbit.
Photo: Reuters
There are significant risks for Trump. By bringing Putin onto US soil, the president is giving Russia’s leader the validation he desires after his ostracization following his invasion of Ukraine more than three years ago. The exclusion of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy from the summit also deals a heavy blow to the West’s policy of “nothing about Ukraine without Ukraine.”
Any success is far from assured, especially as Russia and Ukraine remain far apart in their demands for peace. Putin has long resisted any temporary ceasefire, linking it to a halt in Western arms supplies and a freeze on Ukraine’s mobilization efforts, which were conditions rejected by Kyiv and its Western allies.
Trump departed Washington aboard Air Force One yesterday, and was accompanied by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, US Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent, US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick and CIA Director John Ratcliffe, as well as other top aides.
“HIGH STAKES!!!” Trump wrote on Truth Social as his motorcade idled outside the White House shortly after sunrise in Washington.
Trump on Thursday said there was a 25 percent chance the summit would fail, but also floated the idea that if the meeting succeeds he could bring Zelenskiy to Alaska for a three-way meeting, a possibility Russia has not agreed to.
Asked in Anchorage about Trump’s estimate of a 25 percent chance of failure, Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergei Lavrov said that Russia “never plans ahead.”
“We know that we have arguments, a clear, understandable position. We will state it,” he said in footage posted to the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affair’s Telegram channel.
The Kremlin said Trump and Putin would first sit down for a one-on-one discussion, followed by the two delegations meeting and talks continuing over “a working breakfast.” They are then expected to hold a joint news conference.
Alaska, which the US purchased from Russia in 1867 for US$7.2 million, is separated from Russia at its closest point by less than 5km and the international date line.
Additional reporting by staff writer
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