Putin wins Ukraine concessions in Alaska but did not get all he wanted
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Hans India
24 minutes ago
- Hans India
Straight to peace deal?
Washington: After concluding the 'very successful' Alaska meet, US President Donald Trump on Saturday said the "best way" to end the Russia-Ukraine war was to directly go for a peace agreement and not a ceasefire deal. President Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin met for about 2 1/2 half hours on Friday at a summit in Alaska that started with a handshake, a smile and a ride in the Presidential limousine — an unusually warm reception for a US adversary responsible for launching the largest land war in Europe since 1945. They planned to hold a joint news conference after talking together with top advisers behind closed doors on efforts to end Russia's war in Ukraine. When they greeted each other, they gripped hands for an extended period of time on a red carpet rolled out at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage. Trump said that Ukrainian President Zelensky would visit the US on Monday, adding that another meeting would be scheduled with Putin "if it all worked out". In a post on Truth Social, Trump said he had a late-night call with Zelensky, several European leaders, including the Secretary General of Nato. 'It was determined by all that the best way to end the horrific war between Russia and Ukraine is to go directly to a Peace Agreement, which would end the war, and not a mere Ceasefire Agreement, which often times do not hold up," he posted in the social media platform. This came after Zelensky expressed support for a trilateral meeting involving Russia, US and Ukraine at the negotiating table. 'We support President Trump's proposal for a trilateral meeting between Ukraine, the USA, and Russia. Ukraine emphasizes that key issues can be discussed at the level of leaders, and a trilateral format is suitable for this," he said in a post on X. Further providing details of his conversation with Trump, he said, "We also discussed positive signals from the American side regarding participation in guaranteeing Ukraine's security. We continue to coordinate our positions with all partners. I thank everyone who is helping." The highly anticipated Trump-Putin meet in Alaska on Friday ended with no peace deal on Ukraine. Described positively by both leaders, Putin even claimed that Ukraine invasion wouldn't have happened if Trump would have been the President back then. Trump called the talks 'extremely productive,' noting that 'many points were agreed to' but stressing that 'there's no deal until there's a deal.' Putin said they had reached an 'understanding' on Ukraine and expressed hope it would help pave the way for peace, though no concrete measures were announced. Zelensky and European leaders were excluded from Trump and Putin's discussions, and Ukraine's president was left posting a video address in which he expressed his hope for a 'strong position from the US.' The summit was a chance for Trump to prove he's a master dealmaker and peacemaker. He likes to brag about himself as a heavyweight negotiator and has boasted that he could easily find a way to bring the slaughter to a close — a promise he's been unable to keep so far. For Putin, it was an opportunity to try to negotiate a deal that would cement Russia's gains, block Kyiv's bid to join the NATO military alliance and eventually pull Ukraine back into Moscow's orbit.
Hindustan Times
24 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
‘Additional India tariff may be put in abeyance': Ex-diplomat signals hope after Trump-Putin talks
Former diplomat Veena Sikri has expressed optimism that the additional tariffs threatened by the United States on India may not materialise, following what she described as a positive outcome from the recent meeting between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska. US President Donald Trump shakes hand with Russian President Vladimir Putin, as they meet to negotiate for an end to the war in Ukraine, at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska, U.S., August 15, 2025.(REUTERS) In an interview to news agency ANI, Sikri suggested that Trump may have raised the issue of tariffs on Russia's oil sales to India, China, and the European Union during his discussions with Russian counterpart. 'From President Trump's side, I think there is some kind of discussion on this, definitely with President Putin, and it seems that an understanding has been reached that tariffs on Russia's oil sales to China, India, and even the EU do not need to be imposed.' Sikri said. 'There might even be a possibility of trade between Russia and America. So, there is talk of that... President Putin talked about it, saying, 'Oh yes, we have good trade with the USA.' I think this issue of the additional tariff may not come up; maybe it will be put in abeyance for a while,' she added. Before and after Alaska meet Recalling the outlook for India tariffs before the Alaska summit, she said situation appeared bleak due to the prospect of steep duties. Sikri said, 'One of Trump's senior ministers, Mr Bessant, had even said that, if the meeting doesn't go well, then we may further increase the tariffs on India.' Sikri was referring to remarks by US treasury secretary Scott Bessent. He told Bloomberg TV, 'It's put up or shut up time… We put secondary tariffs on the Indians for buying Russian oil. And I could see if things don't go well, then sanctions or secondary tariffs could go up.' However, the former diplomat went on to say, "After the meeting, there are indications that, even the journalists have been asking President Trump, what about China? They're buying so much oil from Russia. So why aren't you telling them, putting tariffs on them? So President Trump replied that he's going to wait for a few weeks, and maybe it may not be necessary to put tariffs," she said. President Trump, who met Putin in Alaska on Saturday, said the talks "went really well." He also held follow-up discussions with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, several European leaders, and the NATO Secretary General. The summit followed Donald Trump's announcement of a 50 per cent tariff on India, including a 25 per cent additional duty linked to its purchase of Russian oil.
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First Post
24 minutes ago
- First Post
US State Dept documents with sensitive information on Trump-Putin found lying on hotel printer: Report
Just two hours before the talks between US President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, a US State Department document containing sensitive government information was discovered on a public printer at an Alaska hotel Russian President Vladimir Putin shakes hands with Chief of Protocol of the United States Monica Crowley after the Russian leader met with U.S. President Donald Trump. AFP Just two hours before the talks between US President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, a US State Department document containing sensitive government information was discovered on a public printer at an Alaska hotel. According to NPR, the eight pages of the document contained a schedule, several phone numbers of government employees, and a luncheon menu. As per the report, the document was found on a public hotel printer at Hotel Captain Cook in Anchorage. The hotel is a 20-minute drive away from the Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, where the two world leaders met on Friday to discuss the future of the war in Ukraine. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Three guests staying at the same hotel found pages around 9 am on Friday, two hours before the summit commenced, NPR reported. However, it remains unclear exactly who left the paper. The images obtained by NPR noted that seven of the pages were 'produced by the Office of the Chief of Protocol." The hotel, which has 550 rooms, declined to comment on the location of the printers. In a statement to The Independent, Tommy Pigott, the State Department Principal Deputy Spokesperson, slammed the publication for reporting on the matter. 'Instead of covering the historic steps towards peace achieved at Friday's summit, NPR is trying to make a story out of a lunch menu. Ridiculous," he said. Not a security breach A White House spokesperson told NPR that abandoning the documents in a public printer was not considered a security breach. As per the report, the first five pages of the state department document contain the sequence of the day's events, including the participants, locations, and times. Below the names of Putin and his Russian aides were the pronunciations for each name. Under the Russian president's name, the file suggests: 'POO-tihn." Apart from this, the pages also comprised phone numbers of government employees along with a gift Trump planned to give to Putin. According to NPR, the gift to the Russian leader was 'American Bald Eagle Desk Statue.' Meanwhile, the sixth page showed a lunch seating chart. The two world leaders were seated at the centre of the table, flanked on both sides by their respective officials, six for Trump and five for Putin. The seating chart mentioned where Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth, White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent, Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick and Special Envoy for Peace Missions Steve Witkoff will be sitting for the lunch. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Meanwhile, Putin's group included his Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergey Lavrov, his Minister of Finance Anton Siluanov, and Minister of Defence Andrey Belousov. The seventh page of the document included the menu for lunch, which ended up being cancelled on Friday. As per the photograph obtained by NPR, the two world leaders and their teams were supposed to be offered a green salad with champagne vinaigrette dressing and sourdough bread with rosemary lemon butter. For the main course, there would've been a choice of either filet mignon with brandy peppercorn sauce or halibut Olympia. Buttery whipped potatoes and roasted asparagus were supposed to be ordered on the sides, while the planned dessert was créme brulé with ice cream. Finally, the last page showed what appeared to be a stylised copy of the menu. At the top read: 'Luncheon in honour of his excellency Vladimir Putin.' White House brushes off the matter While speaking to NPR, White House Deputy Press Secretary Anna Kelly brushed off the discovery as a 'multi-page lunch menu' and suggested leaving the documents on a public printer was not a security breach. However, other lawmakers and security experts lambasted the administration over the latest incident in Alaska. 'How many more headlines are we going to read about INCOMPETENT security breaches by the Trump Admin???' Florida Democratic Congressman Darren Soto posted on X Saturday. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Jon Michaels, a UCLA law professor, told NPR that the incident 'strikes me as further evidence of the sloppiness and the incompetence of the administration." 'You just don't leave things in printers. It's that simple,' he added.
