Putin back on the global stage or is something bigger at play?
New Delhi, Aug 16: The images from Anchorage, Alaska, were striking. A red carpet rolled out, Trump personally went to receive Putin at the tarmac, two handshakes followed, and then Putin and Trump rode to the summit together in the US presidential car - The Beast, all of it choreographed to project warmth and parity. For a Russian president who has been cast as a pariah in much of the West since 2022, the symbolism was unmistakable. Putin is back on the global stage, not only welcomed but embraced by an American president. Many in Moscow are already calling it a diplomatic victory.
Yet, beyond the optics, the summit offered few hard results. Both leaders spoke of “progress” and a “starting point” but avoided any substantive disclosure. “There’s no deal until there’s a deal,” Trump said repeatedly after the meeting. Putin on another hand, insisted that the “primary causes” of the war must be addressed. Both leaders did not take questions from reporters. It speaks volumes that there is more than what is expected. Both seemed intent on shielding the real content of their six-hour discussion from scrutiny. That silence has fuelled speculation: is something larger in motion behind the scenes?
The body language of both leaders was calm and businesslike, reporters observed.
Trump called the meeting “extremely productive,” while Putin described it as “respectful, constructive and mutually respectful.” There was no visible hostility as has been described against Moscow by the Western media since the beginning of the Russia-Ukraine war, some three years ago. The tone was calm, even warm. For Putin, this alone is a triumph. Four years after his last meeting with an American president, he stood side by side with Trump as an equal partner, not an aggressor as the West calls him or isolated by sanctions and war or as a war criminal scared of his arrest by the International Criminal Court.
Analysts in Kyiv were quick to note the imbalance, reports BBC. “Putin gains time,” as a Ukrainian politician and activist was quoted by international media, “Time to manage his military, time to negotiate with China, and time to consolidate power at home.” A ceasefire may not have been agreed, but the summit signals that Washington is once again willing to negotiate directly with Moscow, something unthinkable under the Biden administration.
The Zelensky factor
Monday’s meeting of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky with President Trump at the White House, Washington, will set the ball rolling. His inclusion is a concession to Kyiv, which was pointedly excluded from the Alaska meeting and had publicly expressed its frustration. Trump moved swiftly to reassure Zelensky, briefing him by phone on the summit and stressing that “the best way to end the horrific war between Russia and Ukraine is to go directly to a Peace Agreement” — something “more substantial than a mere Ceasefire Agreement.”
Zelensky, keenly aware of how precarious his relationship with Trump has been, responded with careful optimism. He called his hour-long conversation with the US president “long and substantive” and endorsed the idea of a trilateral meeting with Putin. Still, he stated that Ukraine must not be sidelined again, and European leaders should be involved “at every stage” to ensure credible security guarantees.
That European presence is crucial. Joining the Trump–Zelensky call as reported by the media were UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Polish President Karol Nawrocki, Finnish President Alexander Stubb, NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte, and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. Their participation was no accident. For Kyiv, European leaders are the shield against Trump, who may decide on his own by striking a deal that compromises Ukraine’s sovereignty.
For Trump, the Alaska summit offered a chance to reset his foreign policy credentials. By declaring the day “great and very successful,” he positioned himself as the dealmaker capable of delivering peace where others have failed. His statement that “millions of people’s lives will be saved” as well as having a peace agreement rather than a ceasefire hints at something more coming up. However, at this stage it does not look like Trump will bypass Zelensky even though Trump is eager to present himself as a peacemaker.
Perhaps the most intriguing moment came at the very end of the Alaska summit. After Trump suggested they would meet again soon, Putin replied in English: “Next time in Moscow.” Trump laughed and admitted such a visit “would get him a lot of heat.” Yet the idea is now on the table. For Putin, an American president visiting Moscow while Russian troops still occupy Ukrainian territory would be the ultimate validation.
For now, Alaska has produced more symbolism than substance. Putin leaves with the glow of international legitimacy restored; Trump departs with the aura of a leader on the cusp of brokering peace. Zelensky, flying into Washington, seeks to ensure Ukraine is not reduced to a pawn in great-power bargaining and European leaders standing on the fence as guarantors and witnesses. What happens in the Oval Office on Monday may reveal more than Alaska did. If a trilateral summit follows, it will mark the most serious attempt yet to end the war. For in diplomacy, as Trump himself put it, “there’s no deal until there’s a deal.”
