Trump to meet Putin – can there be peace in Ukraine?
Despite Trump having a somewhat healthy relationship with Putin during his first term as President, it has since soured after coming to power again.
After promising he would end the war in Ukraine in 24 hours, he slowly realised that it is Putin and not Zelenskyy whose intent on continuing the conflict. Trump has traded on being a deal maker and has previously likened Ukraine to his specialist area – real estate.
His tactic, famously outlined in his book 'The Art of the Deal' – is to exert maximum pressure before striking an agreement.
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The Independent
23 minutes ago
- The Independent
Russians crow over Trump-Putin summit being held in Alaska: ‘Makes the US an Arctic nation'
It's the first time that a Russian leader has been invited to American soil outside of the United Nations since 2007, and comes without the Kremlin having made any apparent concessions amid its war of aggression in Ukraine. Just days before the summit was announced, Trump was sharing his anger at Putin's consistent bombing of Ukraine and threatened to increase sanctions on Russia. The sudden decision to meet with the Russian leader prompted European and Ukrainian officials to scramble to respond to the new arrangement. One of the top interlocutors between the Kremlin and the Trump administration is Russia's special economic envoy Kirill Dmitriev, who argued that the decision to have the meeting in Alaska was symbolically significant. The U.S. bought Alaska from Russia in 1867 for $7.2 million, roughly two cents per acre. 'Born as Russian America — Orthodox roots, forts, fur trade — Alaska echoes those ties and makes the U.S. an Arctic nation,' he said on X. Konstantin Malofeyev is a billionaire who the Obama administration sanctioned for funding separatists in Ukraine backed by the Kremlin and interfering in elections in a number of countries. He claimed Alaskans 'respectfully remember their Russian past and their Orthodox present.' Alexander Kots, a war correspondent supportive of the Kremlin, said in his Telegram channel that 'The meeting in Alaska has every chance to become historic.' 'That is, of course, if the West does not try to pull off another scheme,' he added. Meanwhile, analysts in the West urged caution. Michael McFaul served as the U.S. ambassador to Russia during the Obama administration. 'Trump has chosen to host Putin in a part of the former Russian Empire,' he said on X. 'Wonder if he knows that Russian nationalists claim that losing Alaska, like Ukraine, was a raw deal for Moscow that needs to be corrected.' 'The symbolism of holding the Trump-Putin summit in Alaska is horrendous — as though designed to demonstrate that borders can change, land can be bought and sold,' said King's College London Russian Politics professor Sam Greene, according to The Washington Post. 'Never mind that mainstream Russian discourse maintains a claim that Alaska should be returned to Russia.' While Czar Alexander II offered up Alaska for sale, Putin has taken Ukrainian territory by force via the unlawful annexation of Crimea in 2014 and the subsequent full-scale invasion of the country in 2022, when he illegally claimed to annex four regions of Ukraine. Russia analysts told The Post that it's unlikely that the Kremlin has left behind any of its goals for Ukraine, such as demilitarization, the replacement of the current regime with a pro-Russia one, and for Ukraine not to join NATO. A senior fellow with the Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center, Tatiana Stanovaya, said Trump 'didn't want to fall into confrontation with Russia.' 'Trump himself said that further sanctions probably wouldn't force Putin to change his mind. We could see from these signals that Trump could be open to a new attempt, and he did so just days before the end of his ultimatum,' Stanovaya added. The deputy head of the German Institute for International and Security Affairs, Janis Kluge, told The Post that Putin's proposal is 'part of the war.' 'It's just a temporary ceasefire in exchange for land,' said Kluge. 'It is meant to give Putin an advantage in the longer run against Ukraine and the West.' A former top Kremlin official told the paper that Russia appeared willing to compromise, as it indicated that it was ready for a ceasefire. 'Politically, it is easier [for the Kremlin] to continue the war until Ukraine's final collapse than to make peace,' the anonymous official said. 'This is why they are clinging on to the idea that there needs to be a temporary but not permanent truce — and then in the meantime [Ukrainian] elections can be conducted.' While the Kremlin has pushed for a friendly regime in Kyiv, Ukrainians have often demonstrated their wish for free and fair elections and a democratic future as part of the European Union. Pro-Kremlin analyst Sergei Markov said, 'Russian troops are not going to make any step backward,' as part of a deal to reach a ceasefire. However, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Saturday that he wouldn't agree to any deal that included handing over territory to Russia, saying Ukraine's constitution prohibited it. 'There are no guarantees,' Markov added, according to The Post. 'But there are also no guarantees that Ukraine won't begin the war again.' He went on to say that Russia's top goal during the summit was to paint Europe and Ukraine as impediments to Trump's dream of achieving a peace deal. 'Russia hopes that Trump will finally become sensible and see that Zelensky is the main reason for the war that is happening now, and that the second reason for the war is European leaders … and that they are his enemies too,' said Markov, adding that Trump will realze that 'Putin is one of his few good political friends.'
Daily Mirror
an hour ago
- Daily Mirror
Vladimir Putin's dad 'gouged out his mum's eye with pitchfork in fit of rage'
A bombshell new book about Russian President Vladimir Putin's life claims his dad gouged out his mum's eye with a pitchfork during 'a fit of rage' Vladimir Putin's father gouged out his mother's eye with a pitchfork when she was just 17 years old, according to a bombshell new book. The alleged attack led to the evil dictator's mum, Maria, losing her eye and his dad being forced to marry her. The bizarre story emerged from a new book titled The Tsar in Person: How Vladimir Putin Fooled Us All, which details the despot's life before he took over in Moscow. It claims the attack came during "a fit of rage" from Putin's dad, before the couple were married. It comes as Putin warns of nuclear war after unleashing another night of hell on Ukraine. The book explains Putin's father arrived with male friends at Maria's - known as Marusya - home when she was alone in her village in Tver region, in 1928. In the account, villager Anfisa Kormilitsyna said: "Marusya didn't want to let them in." The villager said this appeared to enrage Putin's dad, adding: "They took the pitchfork that was standing by the fence and started breaking down the gate. She got scared, ran out of the house, and raced up to the fence. "And Volodka [Vladimir senior, Putin's father] at that moment broke through the gate with the pitchfork and hit Marusya right in the face. "In short, he accidentally gouged out her eye. He took her to the hospital right away. There, Marusya's eye was removed." The villager also revealed the sad reason as to why the two got married after this alleged incident. She said: "For a girl in those days, this was a disgrace. "So Marusya's mother threatened Volodka: if you don't marry, I'll put you on trial. So they got married. Marusya was very embarrassed about her glass eye later, never looked you in the face when talking, and tilted her head to the side." The villager also said Putin's father was notorious for terrorising teenage girls Anfisa added: "He liked to lift up girls' skirts and tie them in a knot over their heads. Co-author Roman Badanin said this was so the village boys could get a better look at the girl's knickers." Independent Russian news outlet Proekt reported: "Putin's mother had been one-eyed since her youth because the other eye had been put out with a pitchfork in a fit of rage by the father of the future Russian leader." Despite this harrowing account, Putin has only spoken ever about how his parents were perfect. His mother was over 40 by the time she gave birth to the future spy and dictator, triggering rumours that he was adopted or the child of a lover. Last year he recounted: "Never - I want to emphasise this - never did I see my father drunk. That never happened at all. I'm not even talking about my mother. I never heard a single swear word from him. Not one. Well, I'm not even talking about my mother here either." The authors accused Putin of covering up his personal life."
Daily Mirror
an hour ago
- Daily Mirror
JD Vance says Americans 'done' with Ukraine war cost as Putin-Zelensky meeting hints grow
In an interview with Fox News US Vice President JD Vance said Americans are 'sick' of spending money on the war in Ukraine and said Donald Trump needs to get Zelensky and Putin to 'sit down' together Volodymyr Zelensky and Vladimir Putin may meet face-to-face for the first time since Russia's invasion this week. Putin is set to attend a summit with US President Donald Trump in Alaska on Friday, and the US President is reportedly considering inviting the Ukrainian leader. A senior US official told NBC News it is "absolutely" possible after Mr Zelensky warned against shutting him out of peace negotiations. In an interview that screened on Sunday, US Vice President JD Vance said Americans are "done" paying to support Ukraine. And he said neither side is likely to be happy with a peace deal. It comes after NATO scrambled warplanes as Russia shoots down West's F-16 fighter jet in Ukraine onslaught. UK facing 'dire' domestic abuse crisis with thousands of victims 'trapped' Mr Vance told Fox News in an interview filmed last Thursday: 'We want to bring about a peaceful settlement to this thing. We want to stop the killing. "But Americans, I think, are sick of continuing to send their money, their tax dollars, to this particular conflict. But if the Europeans want to step up and actually buy the weapons from American producers, we're okay with that. But we're not going to fund it ourselves anymore.' He said Mr Trump "needs to force President Putin and President Zelensky to sit down to figure out their differences". He admitted that a deal to end the war is "not going to make anybody super happy", adding: "Both the Russians and the Ukrainians, probably, at the end of the day, are going to be unhappy with it." A White House official yesterday(SUN) told the Associated Press that Mr Trump is open to Mr Zelensky joining his meeting with Putin. The Ukrainian President said that excluding his country from vital talks will only result in "dead solutions". After being backed by European leaders including Keir Starmer - who signed a statement of solidarity - Mr Zelensky said: "The end of the war must be fair, and I am grateful to everyone who stands with Ukraine and our people." Last week Mr Trump suggested a peace deal may include "some swapping of territories" - sparking fears that Kyiv could be pressured into giving up land or other concessions. Saturday's statement, signed by the president of the European Union and leaders of France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Finland and the UK, stressed the need for a "just and lasting peace" for Kyiv, including "robust and credible" security guarantees. "Ukraine has the freedom of choice over its own destiny. Meaningful negotiations can only take place in the context of a ceasefire or reduction of hostilities," the statement said. "The path to peace in Ukraine cannot be decided without Ukraine. We remain committed to the principle that international borders must not be changed by force," the Europeans added.
