Lessons learned from the Alaskan summit between Trump and Putin

President Donald Trump greeted Russian counterpart vladimir putin for a summit in Alaska on Friday, complete with fighter aircraft, a red carpet, and the hopeful motto “Pursuing Peace” emblazoned on the wall. The outcome of the meeting was completely unknown when it ended abruptly.

The two men met for almost three hours and then came out to announce progress. However, they left their planned press conference without providing a detailed explanation of their accomplishments.

One thing was certain on Friday: No agreement was reached. Furthermore, Trump’s increased pressure on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to “make a deal” meant that the ceasefire he claimed he wanted in place when the summit was over was far from happening.

Following Putin at the press conference, Trump stated, “There were a lot of things that we agreed on, I would say most of them.” “We’ve made some progress on a few major ones, but we haven’t quite reached our destination yet.”

Trump declared, “Until there is a deal, there is no deal.”

He and Putin left the platform without responding to inquiries.

However, Trump stated that the best approach to resolve the conflict in Ukraine is through a “peace agreement” in an early-morning social media post on Saturday.

On Truth Social, Trump stated, “Everyone agreed that the best way to end the terrible conflict between Russia and Ukraine is to go straight to a Peace Agreement, which would end the war, and not a mere Ceasefire Agreement, which often do not hold up.”

It was an inconclusive end to a showy summit that — for all its unknowns — did seem to decisively welcome Putin back into the diplomatic fold.

Nevertheless, despite all of the fanfare and formality, it was clear from the start of the meeting how challenging Trump’s job would be.

While Trump was showing him the utmost respect on US soil, Putin was preparing to continue his war, as evidenced by the alerts sent out in Ukraine about oncoming Russian drones and planes as the presidents were greeting each other on the tarmac of Elmendorf Air Force Base.

The following are the main conclusions from Friday’s conference in Anchorage:

Advancement but no agreement

Both Putin and Trump provided a hazy description of an hours-long conversation.

Trump told reporters, “We had a very productive meeting, and many points were agreed to.” There are only a handful remaining. Not all of them are very important. The first is arguably the most important, but we have a fair chance of succeeding. We have a pretty high chance of getting there, even though we didn’t.

In an interview immediately after the summit, Trump was asked by Fox News’ Sean Hannity about territorial concessions that would give Russia land it didn’t previously have and about potential US security assurances for Ukraine.

Without providing further details, Trump stated, “Well, I think those are points that we negotiated, and those are points that we largely have agreed on.”

Ukraine “has to agree to it,” he emphasized. “Gotta make a deal,” Trump said in response to a question about his advise for Zelensky.

An poor outcome was usually more obvious in the run-up to the negotiations than a good one. Trump had threatened to reduce the joint news conference to a solo appearance, claimed that if the war didn’t cease, Moscow would face “severe” repercussions, and vowed to “walk” if he didn’t agree with what Putin was saying.

Trump, however, claimed he had no idea what success looked like when flying to Anchorage, implying that he would know it when he saw it.

As it happens, success was as difficult to define following the summit as it was at the start.

Trump claims he will attend a possible meeting between Putin and Zelensky.

Trump stated in his Fox interview that Putin and Zelensky both want him to attend a possible second meeting, which he had stated would be his ultimate goal before to the summit.

He assured Hannity, “I’ll be there because they both want me to be there.”

During the press conference, Trump made no mention of the possibility of a trilateral summit, merely saying he would call “the various people that I think are appropriate” — including Zelensky — to give them an update on the discussions. Zelensky said he and Trump had a “long and substantive conversation” overnight and that he will meet with Trump on Monday in Washington, DC.

During their joint appearance, trump and putin simply alluded to a possible follow-up meeting with the Russian leader.

Trump declared, “We’ll talk to you very soon, and probably see you again very soon.”

Putin replied in English, “Next time in Moscow,” which seems to cut Zelensky out of the conversation.

Putin returns from his exile

Putin’s smile as he looked out the window of Trump’s vehicle shortly after his arrival in the US said it all: he was back in the world’s most powerful country after years of isolation from the West.

Putin had not visited the United States for a significant presidential meeting in several years, and it had been ten years since his last visit. The Russian leader was viewed as a pariah by many leaders, unwelcome in the majority of western countries, and even threatened with an arrest warrant by the International Criminal Court following his 2022 invasion of Ukraine. (In part, the US’s non-membership of the ICC made Alaska a viable venue for the summit.)

However, as Putin’s plane touched down in Anchorage, his isolation came to an end. Trump made it apparent that Putin was back in the game with a red carpet greeting, a flyover of fighter planes, and a round of applause from the US president himself. Russian state television praised their warm welcome as a “historic handshake.”

Even while Putin is still unwelcome in many European countries, Trump’s choice to welcome him, as the head of the largest economy and most potent military in the world, undermines diplomatic shunning efforts more than any other leader could.

That became more evident when Putin got into Trump’s armored car, an odd move that seemed to instantly symbolize the Russian leader’s comeback to international diplomacy. For him, it was a victory even though there was no significant advancement.

What had been advertised as a one-on-one meeting was expanded to include aides.

The announcement that Trump would no longer be meeting Putin one-on-one with just their translators present was a shock as he was landing. Rather, each leader would have bilateral discussions with two aides.

This contrasted with the White House’s announcement earlier in the week that there would be a one-on-one component to the meeting. Although a U.S. official acknowledged that the format change was late, they did not provide an explanation.

There was some uncertainty surrounding Trump’s one-on-one encounters with Putin throughout his first term. It was frequently difficult to understand what was being discussed because there was only a translator there. Aides occasionally found it challenging to determine whether any agreements were made between the two men. Trump requested that his interpreter throw away his notes following one such meeting in Germany.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio and US special envoy Steve Witkoff were added as aides to Friday’s meeting, which may provide further clarification in the days ahead, especially if Russia provides an explanation of what happened that is different from the US’s.

One moment, however, will only be remembered by Trump and Putin: their quick travel from the tarmac to the meeting room in the presidential limousine. There were no counselors or even translators in the car with them, only Secret Service agents.

Thus, only they are aware of what transpired during their brief conversation.