What are Putin and Trump trying to achieve in Alaska?
Putin eyes international recognition... and more
By Russia editor Steve RosenbergThe first thing Putin wants from this summit is something he's already been given.And that's recognition.Recognition from the world's most powerful country, America, that Western efforts to isolate the Kremlin leader have failed.The fact that this high-level meeting is happening is testament to that, as is the joint press conference that the Kremlin has announced. The Kremlin can argue that Russia is back at the top table of global politics. "So much for being isolated," crowed the tabloid Moskovsky Komsomolets earlier this week.Not only has Putin secured a US-Russia summit, but a prime location for it. Alaska has much to offer the Kremlin. First, security. At its closest point, mainland Alaska is just 90km (55 miles) from Russia's Chukotka. Vladimir Putin can get there without flying over "hostile" nations.Second, it's a long way – a very long way - from Ukraine and Europe. That sits well with the Kremlin's determination to sideline Kyiv and EU leaders, and deal directly with America. There's historical symbolism, too. The fact that Tsarist Russia sold Alaska to America in the 19th Century is being used by Moscow to justify its attempt to change borders by force in the 21st Century."Alaska is a clear example that state borders can change, and that large territories can switch ownership," wrote Moskovsky Komsomolets.But Putin wants more than just international recognition and symbols.He wants victory. He's been insisting that Russia keep all the land it has seized and occupied in four Ukrainian regions (Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson) and that Kyiv withdraw from the parts of those regions still under Ukrainian control.For Ukraine this is unacceptable. "Ukrainians will not give their land to the occupier," says the country's president, Volodymyr Zelensky.The Kremlin knows that. But if it secures Trump's support for its territorial demands, the calculation may be that rejection by Ukraine would result in Trump cutting all support for Kyiv. Meanwhile, Russia and the US would get on with boosting relations and developing economic cooperation.But there is another scenario.Russia's economy is under pressure. The budget deficit is rising, income from oil and gas exports falling.If economic problems are pushing Putin to end the war, the Kremlin may compromise.For now, there's no sign of that - with Russian officials continuing to insist that Russia holds the initiative on the battlefield.
Follow live updates ahead of the Trump-Putin summitEuropean leaders tentatively hopeful after call with Trump ahead of summit
Trump seeks chance to claim progress toward peace
By North America correspondent Anthony ZurcherTrump famously promised during his 2024 presidential campaign that ending the Ukraine war would be easy and that he could do it in a matter of days.That promise has hung over the American president's efforts to resolve the conflict, as he has alternated between frustration with the Ukrainians and the Russians since returning to the White House in January.He harangued Zelensky at a dramatic White House meeting in February, and later temporarily suspended military aid and intelligence sharing with the war-torn nation.In recent months, he's been more critical of Putin's intransigence and willingness to attack civilian targets, setting a series of deadlines for new sanctions on the Russians and other nations that do business with them. Last Friday was the most recent deadline, and as with all the ones before it, Trump ultimately backed away.Now he's hosting the Russian president on American soil and talking about "land-swapping", which Ukraine fears may consist of land concessions in exchange for peace.So, any discussion about what Trump wants during his Friday talks with Putin is muddied by the president's vacillating statements and actions.
This week, Trump has made a concerted effort to lower the expectations for this meeting – perhaps a tacit acknowledgement of the limited possibilities of a breakthrough with only one party in the war present. On Monday, he said the summit would be a "feel-out" meeting. He suggested that he would know if he could reach a deal with the Russian leader "probably in the first two minutes"."I may leave and say good luck, and that'll be the end," he added. "I may say this is not going to be settled."On Tuesday, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt reinforced this message, calling the summit a "listening session".With Trump, it's often best to expect the unexpected. And Zelensky and European leaders spoke to him on Wednesday in an effort to ensure that he doesn't strike a deal with Putin that Ukraine won't – or can't – accept.One thing has been clear practically all year, however: Trump would welcome the chance to be the man who ends the war. In his inaugural address, he said he wanted his proudest legacy to be that of a "peacemaker". It is no secret that he longs for the international recognition of a Nobel Peace Prize.Trump is not one to get bogged down in details. But if there is an opportunity for him to claim that he has made progress toward peace during the talks in Anchorage, he will take it.Putin, always a savvy negotiator, may seek a way to let Trump do just that – on Russia's terms, of course.
Follow BBC's coverage of the war in Ukraine
EXPLAINER: Where in Alaska is Trump meeting Putin and why?VISUALS: The war-ravaged Ukrainian territories in mapsVERIFY: Russian attacks on Ukraine double since Trump inaugurationGROUND REPORT: On Ukraine's front line, twisted wreckage shows sanctions haven't yet stopped Russia
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Guardian
14 minutes ago
- The Guardian
West Virginia to deploy hundreds of national guard troops to Washington DC
West Virginia is to deploy 300 to 400 national guard troops to Washington DC at the request of the Trump administration, the state's governor said on Saturday. West Virginia governor Patrick Morrisey's office said in a statement that the deployment is 'a show of commitment to public safety and regional cooperation' and the state will provide equipment and 'approximately 300-400 skilled personnel as directed'. The deployment comes after Donald Trump ordered hundreds of Washington DC national guard troops to mount a show of force and temporarily took over the city's police department to curb what the president depicts as a crime and homelessness emergency in the nation's capital. Data compiled by the DC police department shows that violent crime was actually at a 30-year-low when Trump returned to office in January, and has declined a further 26% since then. Last weekend, Trump ordered the district's homeless residents to leave, or face forcible relocation, after his motorcade passed a handful of unhoused people en route to his golf course outside the city. On Thursday, local officials cleared away one of the roadside encampments Trump had complained about, arguing that they could do so in a more humane fashion than untrained federal forces. A justice department order to replace the Washington police chief, Pamela Smith, with DEA head Terry Cole as the city's 'emergency police commissioner' ran into problems after a challenge in federal court by the DC attorney general, Brian Schwalb. Without issuing a direct ruling on the challenge, US district judge Ana Reyes indicated that Smith has to remain in charge. But efforts to increase federal control of the district resumed on Saturday with the order to deploy West Virginia's national guard. Drew Galang, a spokesperson for Morrisey, said the state's national guard received the order to send equipment and personnel to DC late on Friday and was working to organize the deployment. A White House official told Reuters on Saturday that more national guard troops were being called in to Washington to 'protect federal assets, create a safe environment for law enforcement officials to carry out their duties when required, and provide a visible presence to deter crime'. The Chamberlain Network, a veteran's group that describes itself as 'dedicated to protecting democracy', commented on X that the order for West Virginia's national guard to police DC was 'pulling them away from their core mission of protecting our communities'. 'From floods to winter storms, we count on our Guard on in a crisis,' the group said. 'They should be home, ready to respond—not on a political policing mission.' Since arriving in Washington last week, about 800 national guard troops under Trump's direct control have served as a visible presence in public areas, assigned to administrative and logistical duties as well as 'area beautification' work, according to the Wall Street Journal. Defense officials had said they would not be carrying weapons but 'weapons are available if needed but will remain in the armory,' the US army said in a press release. A US official told Reuters that a formal order authorizing the national guard troops to carry firearms would be issued but it would largely affect military police officers with sidearms. The White House also said on Saturday that national guard in DC are conducting patrols on foot and in vehicles around the national mall and Union Station, adding that the troops are not making arrests at this time. Trump has indicated that he may take similar actions in other Democratic-controlled cities. A federal judge in San Francisco is expected in the coming weeks to issue a ruling on whether Trump violated the law by deploying national guard troops to Los Angeles in June without the approval of California's governor, Gavin Newsom. Typically the national guard is deployed only instances where a state governor requests it. However the DC national guard reports directly to the president.
Reuters
14 minutes ago
- Reuters
Russia's Lavrov discusses Alaska summit's outcome with Turkish, Hungarian counterparts
Aug 17 (Reuters) - Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov held calls on Saturday with his Turkish and Hungarian counterparts, the Russian foreign ministry said, hours after a summit between the U.S. and Russian presidents yielded no deal on ending the war in Ukraine. President Donald Trump, who hosted President Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Friday for bilateral talks aimed at ending the war that Russia launched with a full-scale invasion on Ukraine in early 2022, said that Kyiv should make a deal with Moscow because "Russia is a very big power, and they're not." The phone call between Lavrov and Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan took place at Turkey's initiative, the Russian foreign ministry said in a statement on its website. "The foreign ministers exchanged views on the outcomes of the high-level Russia–U.S. meeting held in Alaska on August 15," the ministry said in its short statement. Turkey has tried to keep diplomatic channels open to both sides during the war, acting as a NATO member, a partner for both Russia and Ukraine, and a potential mediator. Lavrov also held a call with Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto, the Russian foreign ministry said, in which "the parties discussed issues related to the Ukrainian crisis in the context of the outcomes of the Russia–U.S. summit." Hungary has maintained close ties with Russia throughout the war, often opposing EU sanctions and continuing energy cooperation with Moscow, and drawing criticism from Western allies of Kyiv. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said on Saturday after the Putin-Trump meeting that "the world is a safer place than it was yesterday," while other European leaders reiterated in their joint statement that "it will be up to Ukraine to make decisions on its territory."
Sky News
29 minutes ago
- Sky News
Zelenskyy prepares for fresh White House visit - as Putin issues first comments after summit
Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said he is preparing for his meeting with Donald Trump - as Vladimir Putin issued his first comments following the US-Russia talks on the war in Ukraine. The Ukrainian president will fly to Washington DC for the next stage of talks on Monday, which could pave the way for a three-way meeting alongside the Russian leader, Mr Trump has said. It comes following a high-profile summit between the US president and Mr Putin, held in Alaska on Friday. The US president had heavily previewed the talks, threatening sanctions for Russia should there be no agreement on a ceasefire. But a short news briefing following the summit ended with no mention of a ceasefire, no agreement on how to end the war, and little clarity about the next steps. On Saturday, Mr Trump appeared to change his stance on what he hopes to achieve from the talks, indicating he wants a permanent peace settlement rather than a ceasefire, and announced the follow-up meeting with Mr Zelenskyy. In a post on X, the Ukrainian president said he was grateful for the invitation and added: "It is important that everyone agrees there needs to be a conversation at the level of leaders to clarify all the details and determine which steps are necessary and will work." However, he said Russia had rebuffed "numerous calls for a ceasefire and has not yet determined when it will stop the killing", which "complicates the situation". Mr Zelenskyy continued: "If they lack the will to carry out a simple order to stop the strikes, it may take a lot of effort to get Russia to have the will to implement far greater - peaceful coexistence with its neighbours for decades. "But together we are working for peace and security. Stopping the killing is a key element of stopping the war." 23:24 The Ukrainian president's last visit to the White House earlier this year descended into a fiery spat with Mr Trump and his vice president JD Vance that saw him leave early. Mr Putin issued his first statement on Saturday afternoon following the Friday's summit, describing the talks as "timely and quite useful" - but said the "removal" of what he calls the "root causes" of the crisis "must underlie the settlement". He continued: "We definitely respect the US administration's position which wants the hostilities to stop as soon as possible. So do we, and we would like to move forward with settling all issues by peaceful means. "The conversation was very frank and substantive, which, in my view, moves us closer towards making necessary decisions." In calls on Saturday, Mr Trump told Mr Zelenskyy that the Russian leader had offered to freeze frontlines elsewhere if Kyiv agreed to withdraw from the eastern Donetsk and Luhansk regions, a person familiar with the matter told the Reuters news agency. US envoy Steve Witkoff told Ukraine's leader that Mr Putin had said there could be no ceasefire without this, and that the Russian president could pledge not to launch any new aggression against Ukraine as part of an arrangement. Meanwhile, European leaders who make up the "coalition of the willing" are set to hold a conference call tomorrow ahead of the crunch talks between Mr Trump and Mr Zelenskyy. In a statement on Saturday, Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the US leader's efforts had "brought us closer than ever before to ending Russia's illegal war in Ukraine" and that his leadership "in pursuit of an end to the killing should be commended". He said he supported the next phase of talks, but added: "In the meantime, until (Putin) stops his barbaric assault, we will keep tightening the screws on his war machine with even more sanctions."
