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‘This is Russia's ploy': Anchorage summit raised more questions than answers, which is exactly what Putin wanted
‘This is Russia's ploy': Anchorage summit raised more questions than answers, which is exactly what Putin wanted

News.com.au

time21 hours ago

  • Politics
  • News.com.au

‘This is Russia's ploy': Anchorage summit raised more questions than answers, which is exactly what Putin wanted

As anticipated, the Trump-Putin summit in Anchorage ended without a ceasefire, or even a road map to halt Russia's three-and-a-half-year invasion of Ukraine. Both leaders claimed there was 'progress,' but neither announced concrete steps, and the meeting concluded with no deal. The optics of two adversaries coming together in front of a 'Pursuing Peace' banner were appealing, but in reality, the entire charade was little more than a flexing contest between two of the world's most brash leaders. For some analysts, the 'showdown' played right into Putin's plans. As the pair shook hands and smiled for cameras, major EU players moved quickly to restate the first principles of achieving peace. 'International borders must not be changed by force.' That messaging came as a co-ordinated statement from 26 EU leaders in the days around the summit and has since been reiterated as leaders converge on Washington to meet President Volodymyr Zelensky. It is the exact opposite of what Putin desires to achieve from meeting with Trump on foreign soil. Research Fellow at the The Foundation for Defense of Democracies Dr Ivana Stradner says it was always going to be a PR-fest with little in the way of actual progress, arguing it was just another ploy by Putin to strategise. 'This meeting was not about ceasefire per se, it was a diplomatic game on both sides,' Dr Stradner told 'Putin only understands the language of power and President Trump should continue with his 'peace through strength' strategy by imposing more sanctions on Russia and delivering more weapons to Ukraine.' She claims that Putin is using negotiations to 'buy more time to lock in his military gains' and 'to show that Russia is on a par with the US' and is still a 'great power'. 'Ukraine should not cede territory. This is Russia's ploy,' she said. The Anchorage meet-up produced no ceasefire and no agreed mechanism to stop the fighting. Both Russian and US accounts left key issues vague, while follow-on diplomacy shifted to Washington, where Zelensky and a host of European leaders are pressing for robust security guarantees that keep Ukraine in the driver's seat. For some, the insistence that Ukraine must not give up an inch of land is just another excuse for perpetual war. But others say the precedent — that an invading power can just stroll in, start a costly war and negotiate its way out — must not be set. Meanwhile, Trump's team has floated NATO-like 'security guarantees,' but even sympathetic accounts concede that details are unsettled and any US pledge would fall outside formal NATO membership. But Stradner warns that Putin has likely accounted for this outcome. 'Moscow is also using this meeting to try to lure the US into thinking that 'peace through trade' will work… In practice, Putin believes in a 'zero sum strategy' thinking that 'Trump's loss is Putin's gain.' Putin is likely rubbing his hands together at the recent tensions between the US and EU, largely caused by Trump's aggressive tariff policies that have affected several economies. 'The Western centre of gravity is alliance, and this would be a dream come true for Putin as he wants to divorce the US from the EU,' Stradner says. Meanwhile, Zelensky has pushed back against Trump's claim that the fate of the war lies solely on his nation. A lot rides on his next meeting with Trump, which is in about 12 hours time. He has been vocal upon his arrival in Washington, posting a rebuke to Trump's comments earlier in the day. 'Russia must end this war, which it itself started. I hope that our joint strength with America, with our European friends, will force Russia into a real peace,' Zelensky wrote on his social media platforms. In his meeting with Trump last week, Russian President Vladimir Putin demanded Ukraine withdraw from two eastern regions. Later on Sunday, Trump appeared to endorse Putin's demand. 'President Zelenskyy of Ukraine can end the war with Russia almost immediately, if he wants to, or he can continue to fight. Remember how it started. No getting back Obama given Crimea (12 years ago, without a shot being fired!), and NO GOING INTO NATO BY UKRAINE. Some things never change!!!' Trump wrote on Truth Social. Zelensky and many of his European counterparts have repeatedly rejected any suggestion of surrendering territory. 'We share a strong desire to end this war quickly and reliably. And peace must be lasting,' Zelensky wrote, stressing that earlier agreements like the ineffective 1994 'security guarantees' must not be repeated, in order to ensure lasting peace.

EU Leaders Appeal to Trump to Defend Europe's Security Interests at His War Summit with Putin
EU Leaders Appeal to Trump to Defend Europe's Security Interests at His War Summit with Putin

Asharq Al-Awsat

time7 days ago

  • Politics
  • Asharq Al-Awsat

EU Leaders Appeal to Trump to Defend Europe's Security Interests at His War Summit with Putin

European Union leaders appealed on Tuesday to US President Donald Trump to defend their security interests at a key summit with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin later this week over the war in Ukraine. The Europeans are desperate to exert some influence over a Friday meeting that they have been sidelined from. It remains unclear whether even Ukraine will take part. Trump has said that he wants to see whether Putin is serious about ending the war, now in its fourth year. But Trump has disappointed US allies in Europe by saying that Ukraine will have to give up some Russian-held territory. He also said that Russia must accept land swaps, although it remains unclear what Putin might be expected to surrender. The Europeans and Ukraine are wary that Putin, who has waged the biggest land war in Europe since 1945 and used Russia's energy might to try to cow the EU, might secure favorable concessions and set the outlines of a peace deal without them. In a statement early on Tuesday, the leaders said that they 'welcome the efforts of President Trump towards ending Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine.' But, they underlined, 'the path to peace in Ukraine cannot be decided without Ukraine.' 'A just and lasting peace that brings stability and security must respect international law, including the principles of independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity and that international borders must not be changed by force,' they said. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has rejected the idea that Ukraine must commit to give up land to secure a ceasefire. Russia holds shaky control over four of the country's regions, two in the country's east and two in the south. European countries fear that Putin will set his sights on one of them next if he wins in Ukraine. On Monday, Trump repeated that 'there'll be some land swapping going on.' He said that this would involve 'some bad stuff for both' Ukraine and Russia. His public rehabilitation of Putin — a pariah in most of Europe — has unnerved Ukraine's backers. Trump was also critical of Zelenskyy, noting that Ukraine's leader had been in power for the duration of the war and said 'nothing happened' during that time. He contrasted that with Putin, who has wielded power unchallenged in Russia for decades. It's unclear whether the Europeans were unsettled by Trump's assertion that he would be traveling to Russia on Friday to meet Putin. The summit is taking place in the US state of Alaska, which was colonized by Russia in the 18th century until Czar Alexander II sold it to the US in a land deal in 1867. The Europeans will make a fresh attempt to rally Trump to Ukraine's cause on Wednesday at virtual meetings convened by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz. Trump did not confirm whether he would take part, but he did say: 'I'm going to get everybody's ideas' before meeting with Putin. Tuesday's statement was also meant to be a demonstration of European unity. But Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, who is Putin's closest ally in Europe and has tried to block EU support for Ukraine, did not endorse it. He was the only one of the 27 leaders who refused to do so.

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