No ceasefire deal baked in Alaska but first steps taken towards peace

The National

15 hours ago

There was a fly-past by America's bunker-busting B2 stealth bomber as President Donald Trump gave a red-carpet welcome in Alaska to Russian leader Vladimir Putin.
But there was no deal. No talk of a ceasefire and no prospect of the guns falling silent in Ukraine after three-and-half years. Hours before Friday's meeting, 97 Iran-designed Shahed drones struck Ukrainian cities causing civilian casualties, Kyiv said.
However, direct dialogue has begun between two leading players in the conflict that has claimed more than 300,000 lives and the Anchorage meeting could be a first step on the path to peace.
Clearly, something was agreed between the leaders, with both alluding to a deal after their two-hour meeting.
Brotherly nations
At the subsequent 12-minute long press conference, Mr Putin admitted that it might sound strange for him to address the country Russia had invaded as a 'brotherly nation' but he wanted to 'pave the path to peace in Ukraine'.
He also addressed western fears by stating that the 'security of Ukraine should be ensured as well and we welcome that' while calling on European nations 'not to torpedo the process'.
Mr Trump then sent a torpedo by stating that 'one very significant' point had not been agreed. 'We have not quite got there … there's no deal until there's a deal,' he said.
He did not, as Europe and Ukraine feared, concede land without their agreement. The western diplomacy in Europe this week had clearly rubbed off on him, with Europe's leaders urging Mr Trump not to give Mr Putin ground.
No doubt it will emerge what the tentative peace proposals are after Mr Trump explains the discussions in calls to Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and the European leaders on Saturday.
He told the Alaska press conference it was 'extremely productive' meeting and stuck to his aim of wanting to 'stop thousands of people being killed'.
Bombers overhead
Lost among the words, was a tangible symbolic moment of the trip, when, as Mr Trump led his counterpart along the red carpet a B-2 Spirit stealth bomber accompanied by four F-35 fighters, flew over their heads.
That the B-2s had returned from bombing Iran several thousand miles away without detection in June would not have been lost on the Russian president. It was a blunt warning that the US remans the world's leading military power.
Clearly, Mr Trump carries a big stick, as his predecessor Teddy Roosevelt is supposed to have advised, but his Russian counterpart wields a sharp political blade honed by decades of survival in the Kremlin.
'Next time in Moscow,' Mr Putin quipped at the end of the no-questions press conference.
If Mr Trump has stealth in his aircraft, Mr Putin certainly possess the political cunning of equal worth, seeming to catch his opposite number off guard and perhaps netting himself another excellent photo opportunity.
Beast riders
There were also memorable moments during the summit that will be picked over for their symbolism. Mr Trump clapping Mr Putin as he disembarked, the pair chatting in English and then getting into the US President's Beast limousine together as bodyguards looked on.
That there was a joint press conference also suggests that Mr Trump felt enough has been achieved to merit it, rather than his previous threat of a solo appearance if there had been no Russian compliance.
But Mr Putin secured a significant propaganda victory in the very act of landing on US soil and being treated as an equal with the leader of the West.
Quietly forgotten by US authorities was that this was a man wanted for alleged war crimes by the International Criminal Court.
Jaw-jaw
In a subsequent interview with Fox News Mr Trump claimed 'a lot of points were agreed on' but that there were 'one or two pretty significant items' left to resolve.
'I think we are pretty close to a deal. Now look, Ukraine has to agree to it. Maybe they will say no … Now it's up to President Zelensky to get it done,' he added.
There might also be a land swap, Mr Trump said 'those are points that we largely agreed on' as well as setting up a meeting between Mr Zelenskyy and Mr Putin.
The question is how good has Mr Trump's judgment been on this? Has he inadvertently given a pariah leader status and absolution for his war? Or has he opened the path to dialogue to end a war that has caused so much death and damage?
Some suggest Winston Churchill's saying about 'jaw-jaw not war-war' is an inspiration of the Alaska summit, that ending the destruction trumps all else.
There is, of course, for Mr Trump the allure of bagging a Nobel Peace prize and if that's the price that needs to be paid to end the suffering, there will be few detractors on its awarding.
Perhaps after so many deaths, so much war and with Russia's economy faltering, Mr Putin, too, is looking for a way to end the conflict, maybe temporarily, and Mr Trump has given him the signposts to the off-ramp for that.