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‘Civilisational-wide failure': Vladimir Putin is a ‘powerful bully' amid Alaska meeting

‘Civilisational-wide failure': Vladimir Putin is a ‘powerful bully' amid Alaska meeting

Sky News AU9 hours ago
The Australian's Foreign Editor Greg Sheridan says Russian President Vladimir Putin is a 'powerful bully'.
'Putin is a powerful bully, and Trump gives in to powerful bullies,' Mr Sheridan told Sky News host Andrew Bolt.
'Critical as I am of Trump, and I think this latest passage is one of the most despicable things I've ever seen.
'This is a civilisational-wide failure by the West.'
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Still no ambassador, still no red carpet: Albanese-Trump meeting still far away despite US President's 'bear hug' with adversary-turned-cooperator Vladimir Putin
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The shockwaves from the historic meeting between the US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin are continuing to reverberate throughout the West world and beyond. Many analysts and lip-readers – seemingly a new craze in today's media landscape – are reading too much into the body language between the two leaders. Basic observations, from the red carpet to the display of US air power and the pair's ride in the armoured presidential limousine known as 'The Beast', have passed for hard-hitting geopolitical analysis. Amid all this, there are some core take away points which need to be revisited. Despite the warm and welcoming atmosphere, the Alaska 2025 meeting was not an easy endeavour. The initially declared six to seven hours of combined talks were cut down to under three hours. The scheduled business lunch was cancelled. Still, it was a breakthrough, certainly for Putin. For Europe and Ukraine, the meeting felt more like a bear hug. Here is why. The lucky seven for Putin? The Trump-Putin meeting in Alaska was their seventh face-to-face get together as presidents. It might end up being the most memorable of all. First, and perhaps most importantly, the outcome of the Alaska bilateral was the reduced risk (at least for now) of an open confrontation between the two nuclear superpowers over the proxy conflict in Ukraine. The warm pragmatic atmosphere embraced by the US and Russian delegations (members of which were clearly cherry-picked by both presidents, also to avoid any potential mishaps) demonstrated the will to work through major strategic issues, including on the urgent matter of strategic nuclear weapons control. It is a major win for Trump who – like Putin - takes the risk of nuclear confrontation more seriously than many believe he does. Second, it was a symbolic recognition of Russia as a top tier power. 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Putin will get one first when he visits Beijing in early September as the guest of honour to join Chinese grand festivities marking the 80th anniversary of the end of the war in the Pacific. Once again, we'll have to wait for our turn on the red carpet. Dr. Alexey Muraviev is Associate Professor of National Security and Strategic Studies at Curtin University, Perth, Western Australia.

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