REPLAY. The warm handshake between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin
14/08/2025
Alaska Summit: Behind all of the praise, is Putin simply luring Trump in?
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At least 3 dead and thousands displaced as wildfires rage across southern Europe
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Wildfires rage across southern Europe as temperatures top 40C
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Two reported dead from wildfires in Spain amid European heatwave
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'Zelensky and the Europeans should be a part of the decision-making process'
Europe
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LeMonde
2 hours ago
- LeMonde
After the Trump-Putin summit, Europe must make a move
Everything unfolded just as the Europeans had expected. The summit on Friday, August 15, between Presidents Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin in Anchorage, Alaska, ended without any concrete prospects for a ceasefire in Ukraine. However, it worked to the advantage of the Russian president, who found himself rehabilitated on the world stage thanks to the event. The aggressor of an independent country, Ukraine, which he claims as his own, and wanted by the International Criminal Court for war crimes, Putin was treated on Friday by the United States with all the honors reserved for a respected leader of a major power. Greeted as he stepped off the plane by President Trump, invited to walk the red carpet with him to the American president's limousine and then invited inside, the Russian president clearly appreciated these gestures. To express his gratitude to Trump, he echoed two grievances dear to the Republican president: that the 2020 presidential election, won by Joe Biden, was fraudulent, and that the war in Ukraine would never have started if Trump had been president. As for the rest, while describing the meeting as very "productive" and on "the path to peace in Ukraine," Putin merely reiterated, during a brief joint appearance before the press, the "underlying causes" of his conflict with Ukraine. The talks lasted just over two and a half hours, whereas the Kremlin had planned for "six to seven hours" of discussions. The scheduled lunch did not take place, journalists were not allowed to ask questions and the exchanges apparently did not touch on commercial or economic matters, nor on arms control – contrary to Moscow's wishes. For his part, Trump showered "Vladimir" with praise, calling him "a strong guy (...) tough as hell." He spoke of a "very productive" meeting where there were "many points that we agreed on," except for one, "probably the most significant," which he did not specify. The American president, who had threatened Russia just a few days earlier with "very severe consequences" if it failed to achieve a ceasefire in Ukraine, stated on Fox News on Friday that the question of new sanctions was not under consideration for the time being, but that he might have to think about it in two or three weeks. In light of this lack of results, the ball is now in the Europeans' court. On Saturday morning, Trump briefed them, as well as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, on his discussions and the points of agreement he mentioned. Even before speaking to them, he offered this advice to Zelensky on Fox News after the summit: "Make a deal!" From the way Putin and Trump presented matters in Anchorage, it can be inferred that the proposed "deal" is not in Kyiv's favor. Echoing Trump, Putin said he hoped the Europeans "won't throw a wrench in the works and not make any attempts to use some backroom dealings to conduct provocations to torpedo the progress." Keen not to miss any chance to end the war, the Ukrainian president nonetheless responded positively to the idea of a three-way meeting with Putin and Trump, and decided to travel to Washington on Monday to discuss it. The scenario Europeans have feared – a settlement hashed out behind their backs by the Russian and American leaders – cannot be ruled out. However, unlike Trump, Putin acknowledged that they, together with Kyiv, have cards to play. The time has come to use them, and to do so with resolve.
France 24
3 hours ago
- France 24
In high-stakes summit, Trump, not Putin, budges
In the end, it looks like it was Trump, not Putin, who budged. Putin, visibly delighted as he stepped foot in the West for the first time since ordering the 2022 invasion, made no apparent concession at the talks at an Alaska air base. In a brief joint media appearance with Trump, who unusually took no questions, Putin again spoke of addressing the "root causes" of the Ukraine war and warned Kyiv and Europeans against disrupting "emerging progress" with the United States, the top defender of Ukraine under Trump's predecessor Joe Biden. Trump, who bills himself as a master negotiator, acknowledged there was "no deal" but said there were "very few" areas of disagreement, although he was vague on what they were. But posting hours later on his Truth Social account, Trump said he wanted Russia and Ukraine to "go directly to a peace agreement, which would end the war" and not a ceasefire. Trump's own administration had been pushing a ceasefire for months, with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky signing on after intense pressure from Trump. Putin had repeatedly rejected truce offers and kept up attacks on Ukraine, seeking to maximize battlefield advantage. Putin again woos Trump Trump had vowed to be firm with Putin after wide criticism of the US president's cowed appearance before him at a 2018 summit in Helsinki. But Putin again found ways to flatter and trigger Trump, who in his second term constantly speaks unprompted about his many grievances. Putin told Trump before the cameras that there would have been no war -- which Putin himself launched -- if Trump were president in 2022 rather than Biden, a frequent Trump talking point. Trump bemoaned the effect on ties with Putin of what he again called the "hoax" of the findings by US intelligence that Russia meddled in the 2016 election to help him. In an interview with Fox News host Sean Hannity after the summit, Trump said that "one of the most interesting things" Putin told him was about... the US voting system. Trump said approvingly that Putin -- who has held power in Russia since 2000 and was declared the winner of elections last year with 88 percent of the vote -- told him of the risks of mail-in ballots and said of Trump's 2020 loss to Biden, "You won that election by so much." US election authorities and experts have found no evidence of wide-scale fraud from mail-in ballots in the 2020 election, which Trump, uniquely in US history, refused to concede. 'Shameful' or wait and see? Trump's Democratic rivals voiced outrage that the summit secured no breakthrough and said it only served to normalize Putin, who faces an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court. "By quite literally rolling out the red carpet, Trump has legitimized Russia's aggression and whitewashed Putin's war crimes. It's shameful," said Representative Gregory Meeks, the top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee. Experts said it was too early to write off the summit completely, as much is not known about what was discussed behind closed doors. Trump will meet Zelensky on Monday at the White House. Jennifer Kavanagh, director of military analysis at Defense Priorities, which backs US restraint, said that Trump's critics have been proven wrong in saying he would "give Ukraine to Putin or force Kyiv to accept surrender." "His focus has been and remains getting Putin to the negotiating table. Mr. Trump deserves credit rather than condemnation for his efforts so far," she said. But Kristine Berzina, a senior fellow at the German Marshall Fund, said an initial read was that "Putin scored a victory by showing up, and Trump's limited words and tense demeanor left Putin to control the narrative." "For a man so attached to showmanship, Trump unusually allowed Putin to be the star of what should have been the Trump show," she said.
Euronews
3 hours ago
- Euronews
European leaders to support trilateral meeting following Alaska summit
European leaders have said they are "ready to work with US President Trump and Ukrainian President Zelenskyy towards a trilateral summit with European support," in a statement issued by the European Commission on Saturday. "It will be up to Ukraine to make decisions on its territory. International borders must not be changed by force," the statement read, which was released a few hours after the conclusion of a meeting between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin. The statement was signed by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, French President Emmanuel Macron, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Finnish President Alexander Stubb, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk and European Council President António Costa. They said they "welcomed President Trump's efforts to stop the killing in Ukraine, end Russia's war of aggression, and achieve just and lasting peace," following the US President's meeting with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in Alaska. The leaders insisted on "ironclad security guarantees" for Ukraine, with "no limitations" on Ukraine's armed forces. "Russia cannot have a veto against Ukraine's pathway to EU and NATO." The statement also reiterated a pledge to continue to impose sanctions on Russia "as long as the killing in Ukraine continues". Zelenskyy calls for 'real peace' Zelenskyy echoed the European statement in a post on X, calling for "real peace" and "not just another pause between Russian invasions." He added that he told Trump "sanctions should be strengthened if there is no trilateral meeting or if Russia tries to evade an honest end to the war." He also reiterated the importance of involving European leaders, who also were not present at the summit. Other European leaders responded more fiercely to the outcome of Friday's summit in Alaska. Norwegian Foreign Minister Espend Barth Eide told reporters in Oslo Putin's talking points were "code for the Russian justification for the illegal invasion of Ukraine." Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala said in a statement that "Putin is still only interested in the greatest possible territorial gains and the restoration of the Soviet empire." EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said 'the harsh reality is that Russia has no intention of ending this war anytime soon,' noting that Moscow's forces launched new attacks on Ukraine even as the delegations met. 'Putin continues to drag out negotiations and hopes he gets away with it. He left Anchorage without making any commitments to end the killing,' she said.
