Trump fails to reach an agreement and Putin buys time in Ukraine

WashingtonThe unfoundedly low expectations set by the White House in the days leading up to the Alaska meeting fell short when it came to realizing it. The outcome of the meeting with Putin fell far short of the red carpet rolled out on the runway and the fighter jets circling the military base to welcome them. After a three-hour meeting, Donald Trump announced this Friday (already on Saturday in Catalonia) alongside Vladimir Putin that there is still no agreement on the war in Ukraine. "We had an extremely productive meeting and many points were agreed upon," the US president told reporters. "There are only a few left [to close the agreement]. Some are not very significant; one is probably the most significant. But we have a good chance of getting there: we are not there, but we have a good chance of getting there." The announcement was brief and snappy. The American, who loves to speak for hours on end, this time ended the appearance abruptly without allowing reporters to ask questions. Trump once again sees the coveted, yet unrealistic, Nobel Peace Prize slip away while the Russian president buys more time to consolidate his invasion of Ukraine. The former KGB spy has reminded the businessman that the world is not Manhattan.

Probably, this "most significant" point of the non-agreement to which Trump has referred is the territorial division of Ukraine. In Wednesday's videoconference with European partners and President Volodymyr Zelensky, the Republican president promised that there would be no territorial concessions without taking Ukraine into account. Trump has kept his word, which did not exempt him from being able to draft the division with Putin before the "trilateral" meeting that the tycoon has so defended. A meeting, however, that neither leader mentioned when they appeared before the press. However, when Trump said they would speak again soon, to finalize the details of the agreement, Putin allowed himself to joke that the next meeting "will be in Moscow."

The US president also assured that he will immediately call NATO members, "and of course..." has been excluded from the negotiating table while the invader is granted the role of main interlocutor for the future of his country, he has also had to endure Putin's words lamenting the conflict as "a deep wound" to the Russian-Ukrainian brotherhood "We have always considered Ukraine as one nation, and as strange as it may sound in this context, we have the same roots, and everything that is happening is a tragedy and a terrible wound for us," said Putin, who has not stopped bombing Ukrainians for a day while claiming to want peace. which Alaska represents for Russia and the United States. The Arctic territory was sold to the US in the 19th century for $7.2 million at the time. the path to peace in Ukraine. We hope that Kiev and Europe will perceive it constructively and not hinder the work."

Putin did not give further details about this supposed agreement and insisted on the need to "eliminate" the root causes of the conflict. Without saying so explicitly, the Russian was speaking about the red line of non-accession. "President Trump, as you said today, that naturally the security of Ukraine should also be guaranteed," he added.

Although Putin and Trump appeared alone on stage, the face-to-face was three-way. Unlike Helsinki in 2018, where the two leaders faced each other in the room with the sun, they entered alone with only one State, Marco Rubio, and the special envoy, Steve Witkoff, who was praised by Putin during the brotherhood speech with the Americans, highlighting his work as a bridge between Washington and Moscow.

Red carpet for Putin

Trump welcomed Putin to Anchorage on Friday morning, right after 11 a.m. local time, right on the runway. The effusive handshake between the two leaders cemented the United States' recognition of Russia as a key player in the Ukrainian war, as well as the American's barely concealed admiration for the Russian. The image of Putin stepping onto American soil and being welcomed by Trump echoed the Cold War era, when Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev visited the United States in September 1959. A parallel that the former KGB agent and his entourage probably liked. His Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov, had been seen wearing a USSR T-shirt before the meeting.

In an even more unusual image, after a pompous landing, the two leaders left together in the same limousine, where there didn't appear to be an interpreter. Putin speaks enough English to hold a conversation with Trump. The idea of the two leaders in the car with no one but the driver adds mystery to the story. a long relationship marked by secrecy.

On board Air Force One en route to Alaska, Trump had made it clear that he wanted to achieve a ceasefire today: "I want to see a ceasefire quickly. I don't know if it's going to be today, but I won't be happy if it's not today. Everyone says it can't be today, but I just say I'll kill them." But Putin has never been interested in ending the war, because over time, it has become a key element in sustaining his regime.

For the Russian leader, it was key to convince Trump that he was truly open to a ceasefire because it would kill two birds with one stone: buy time and crack the bridge that the Europeans and Volodymyr Zelensky have rebuilt with Washington. The nervousness of Europe and the Ukrainian president lay in his exclusion from the negotiating table and his inability to fully trust Trump. The Helsinki precedent and the White House's lowering of expectations in the days leading up to the meeting were ominous signs for Kiev and the Old Continent, and they have come to pass. Putin's warning to them not to stand in the way of a ceasefire agreement confirms this.

On Air Force One en route to Alaska, the Republican also stated for the first time in public that he was open to the "possibility" of offering security guarantees in Ukraine, "along with other countries in Europe and other countries." However, so as not to frighten Putin, he clarified that Kiev's protection would not be through NATO. Trump stated that, although possible land exchanges would have to be discussed during the meeting, it would have to be Ukraine "that makes this decision." He stated that There will be no territorial concessions without UkraineThe Republican did not rule out discussions in Anchorage about possible ground to be ceded. Washington and Moscow will outline the scenario, and in a second meeting at the White House, which Trump wants to be "trilateral"—with Zelensky present—they would present the draft agreement to Ukraine for him to sign. "I'm not here to negotiate for Ukraine. I'm here to get him to a table," Trump told reporters. He also said that Europe doesn't tell him what to do.