No Deal On Ukraine War At Trump-Putin Meet At Anchorage In Alaska

Arabian Post

2 days ago

By Ashok Nilakantan Ayer
ANCHORAGE, ALASKA: The much-anticipated summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Anchorage, Alaska, billed as a potential turning point in the grinding Ukraine war, ended without a ceasefire agreement, and without the celebratory luncheon that White House aides had originally pencilled into the schedule. After the meeting Trump termed the talks 'productive' and said that now Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will have to get it done at his meeting with President Putin. Putin said he was ready for ending the war but declined to mention about the stage of talks.
After nearly three hours of discussions — expanded at the last minute to include senior advisers from both sides — both leaders walked onto the stage to declare the meeting 'productive' but declined to take questions from the hundreds of journalists who had travelled from around the world to cover the event. The joint appearance lasted barely ten minutes, and by the end of the day, both leaders were on planes out of Alaska, leaving observers to piece together what had happened — and, perhaps more tellingly, what had not.
The day had started on a markedly different note. Trump and Putin exchanged a warm greeting on the Anchorage tarmac, shaking hands twice before climbing into Trump's presidential limousine for the short ride to the summit venue. Putin, speaking later to reporters, said he had greeted Trump with 'hello, neighbour,' a reference to the two countries' proximity across the Bering Strait. He even indulged in a brief history lesson, noting Alaska's Russian heritage and the presence of Russian Orthodox churches in the state.
But the cordial optics masked the weight of the agenda ahead — and the entrenched positions that would ultimately derail any hope of a breakthrough.
Going into the summit, Trump had made no secret of his ambition: he wanted to walk away with a ceasefire announcement. Before departing Washington that morning, he told reporters that anything less would leave him dissatisfied. 'I want to stop thousands of people a week from being killed,' he said. 'President Putin wants to see that as much as I do.'
Yet those hopes collided head-on with the political and territorial realities of the conflict. According to senior U.S. officials familiar with the discussions, the talks were effectively stalled when Russia flatly refused to consider ceding any of the territory it has occupied since 2014 and expanded upon after its full-scale invasion in February 2022. That includes Crimea, as well as parts of Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson — some of which remain active battlegrounds.
For Kyiv and its NATO backers, any settlement that rubber-stamps Russia's territorial gains would be unacceptable. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who was not invited to the summit, has repeatedly ruled out negotiating a peace deal without Ukraine at the table. NATO leaders, likewise, had little faith that Putin would make genuine concessions. 'They knew Putin would yield nothing and do all the talking,' said one European diplomat.
Initially billed as a one-on-one encounter with only translators present, the meeting was altered at the last minute to include a roster of high-level officials. On the U.S. side, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Trump envoy Steve Witkoff — often used as a proxy in Trump's international dealings — joined the talks. The Russian delegation featured Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Kirill Dmitriev, head of Russia's sovereign wealth fund, who has been instrumental in negotiating economic agreements with foreign partners.
The expanded format signalled that the discussions would range beyond the immediate question of a ceasefire to cover broader U.S.–Russia relations, including the potential for renewed economic ties. Indeed, Putin later confirmed that economic cooperation had been a topic, framing the meeting as a 'starting point for resolution' rather than a decisive moment.
The original schedule included a working lunch for the two leaders and their teams, but that was quietly scrapped as the talks dragged on without meaningful convergence on the central issue of ending hostilities in Ukraine.
When the two leaders finally appeared before the press, they stuck to prepared remarks. Trump emphasized 'great progress' while conceding, 'We didn't get there.' Putin spoke of being 'sincerely interested' in ending the conflict but returned to a familiar refrain about the need to address the 'primary causes' of the war — Kremlin shorthand for dismantling Ukraine's sovereignty and NATO alignment.
Neither leader entertained questions, a decision analysts interpreted as a sign of how little substance there was to share. 'The fact that they wouldn't take a single question tells you all you need to know about the outcome,' remarked former U.S. ambassador to NATO Douglas Lute. 'Putin walks away ending his international isolation. Trump walks away with zero.'
Both sides sought to frame the meeting in positive terms. Trump described the summit as 'extremely productive' and hinted at another meeting 'very soon,' perhaps even in Moscow — an invitation Putin dangled during their public remarks. 'Next time in Moscow,' Putin suggested in English, prompting Trump to acknowledge it 'would get him a lot of heat' domestically.
The Kremlin characterized the talks as 'business-like' and noted that both leaders agreed the war would not have started if Trump had remained in office after the 2020 U.S. election — a statement that dovetails neatly with Trump's own campaign narrative.
Yet neither man could point to a concrete agreement. The absence of a ceasefire announcement, particularly after Trump had set public expectations so high, is likely to be seen as a setback to his image as a dealmaker.
In Ukraine, the reaction was one of cautious relief. Analysts noted that no 'deal' had been announced that would cost Ukraine territory — but also expressed concern that the absence of progress could embolden Moscow.
'Ukrainians know all their key deals with Russia have been broken before,' said Vitaliy Shevchenko, BBC Monitoring's Russia editor in Anchorage. 'Even if one had been announced here, they would have been sceptical. But the uncertainty that remains is worrying. Deadlines have come and gone without consequences, and threats have not been carried out. That's an invitation for Putin to continue his attacks.'
Putin's repeated invocation of the 'root causes' of the conflict only deepened Ukrainian fears that Moscow remains committed to its original war aims — namely, the dismantling of Ukraine as an independent state.
Even before the summit, European capitals had been skeptical of the Anchorage meeting's prospects. Many feared Trump might be tempted to offer concessions to Russia in exchange for a headline-grabbing truce. Those fears were not realized — but neither was there any sign of momentum toward a durable peace.
Former NATO envoy Lute was blunt in his assessment: 'We are no closer — in fact, we may be further away from a peace settlement in Ukraine than we were at the beginning of the day.'
As Air Force One lifted off from Anchorage, Trump was already preparing to brief NATO allies and President Zelenskyy. According to White House sources, he intends to present the meeting as having opened a 'window' for further talks, even if no tangible results were achieved this time. Whether that will be enough to reassure allies — and voters back home — remains to be seen.
On paper, the Anchorage summit was an opportunity for Trump to demonstrate his oft-touted skill as a 'peacemaker' and 'dealmaker.' Instead, it has become a case study in the limits of personal diplomacy when confronted with the hard edges of geopolitical conflict.
For Putin, the meeting was a win of sorts: it projected him back onto the global stage alongside a U.S. president, breaking through the international isolation that has defined much of his tenure since the Ukraine invasion. The optics of a red-carpet welcome, a ride in Trump's car, and a joint appearance under a banner proclaiming 'pursuing peace' are victories in the realm of perception, even if the war grinds on unchanged.
For Trump, the benefits are less clear. While he avoided the pitfall of offering concessions without reciprocity, he also left without the breakthrough he had promised — and without the triumphant headlines that might have boosted his domestic standing.
By the time Putin's aircraft lifted off for the return flight to Russia, the verdict from most observers was that Anchorage had been more theatre than substance. Both men left the stage with smiles, but the subtext was unmistakable: the gulf between their positions on Ukraine remains vast, and neither appears willing to cross it.
Whether the two leaders will indeed meet 'next time in Moscow' is uncertain. What is certain is that the war in Ukraine will continue, the casualty toll will rise, and the diplomatic clock will keep ticking without resolution.
In the end, the Anchorage summit may be remembered less for what was achieved — which was negligible — than for what it revealed: the hard truth that no amount of personal rapport, political theatre, or optimistic rhetoric can bridge a chasm carved by war, ideology, and incompatible national interests. (IPA Service)