- Summit, taking place on military base in Alaska.
- Trump says he thinks Putin will make a deal.
- The Kremlin Source says it seems that expressions will be agreed.
Moscow: Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin hold talks in Alaska on Friday with the US president’s hope of sealing a ceasefire agreement on Ukraine uncertain, but with a last gispet offer from Putin by a possible nuclear deal that could help both men save face.
The meeting with the Russian and American leaders at an Air Force Base in the Cold Wartime in Alaska, their first face to face conversations, since Trump returned to the White House, is coming in the midst of Ukrainian and European fears that Trump might be selling Kyiv out.
Trump, who once said he would end Russia’s war in Ukraine within 24 hours, said Thursday that the three and a half years conflict had turned out to be a harder nut to crack than he thought.
He said that if his conversations with Putin went well, it would be even more important to set up a subsequent summit with Ukrainian President Volodymy Zelenskiy – who was not invited to Friday’s meeting – even more important than his meeting with Putin.
Trump is pushing for a ceasefire to strengthen his credentials as a global peace maker worthy of the Nobel Peace Prize, something he has made clear is important to him.
Ukraine and its European allies were heard by their conference call on Wednesday, where they, they said, Trump agreed that Ukraine should be involved in any conversations about the land of issuing. Zelenskiy said Trump had also supported the idea of security guarantees in a post -war settlement, although the US president has not mentioned any public mention of them.
Wednesday’s invitation facilitated their fears of a Trump-Putin deal that would leave Ukraine under pressure to make territorial and other concessions.
Putin, whose war economics shows signs of strain, needs Trump to help Russia break out of its forced jersey with ever -tight Western sanctions or at least not to hit Moscow with multiple sanctions, something Trump has threatened.
The day before the summit, the Kremlin kept the leader out the prospect of something else he knows, Trump wants – a new nuclear weapon control agreement to replace the last survivor to expire in February next year.
Trump says Putin will make a deal on Ukraine
Trump said at the top of the summit that he thought Putin would make a deal on Ukraine, but he has blown up hot and cold on the chances of a breakthrough. Putin meanwhile praised what he called “sincere effort” of the United States to end the war.
A source close to the Kremlin told Reuters that it looked like the two sides had been able to find an unspecified common ground in advance.
“Apparently some expressions will be agreed tomorrow (Friday) because Trump cannot be denied and we are unable to refuse (due to sanction pressure),” said the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the case.
Putin has set strict conditions for a full ceasefire, but one compromise can be a phase truce in the air war, although both sides have accused the other of flowing a previous deal.
Analysts say Putin could try to look like he is giving Trump what he wants while he remains free to escalate in Ukraine if he wants to.
“If they (the Russians) are able to put an appointment on the table that creates a form of ceasefire, but leaving Russia in control of these escalating dynamics, does not create any kind of real deterrence on earth or in heaven over Ukraine … It would be a wonderful result from Putin’s perspective,” said Sam Green, director of democratic resilience at the center of the European political analysis.
Trump suggests that soil transfers are needed
Zelenskiy has accused Putin of blasting and playing for the time being to avoid us secondary sanctions and has ruled out to hand out Moscow any territory.
Trump has said that land transfers between Russia and Ukraine could be a possible way to break Logjam.
Putin, whose forces control almost one -fifth of Ukraine, wants Trump to start reviving the two countries’ shrinking economic, political and business ties and ideally not making this process conditional on progress with Ukraine.
But it is unclear whether Putin is willing to compromise with Ukraine. By power for a quarter of a century, the Kremlin chief has put his inheritance by coming out of the war with something he can sell to his people as a victory.
Head of his war target is complete Russian control over Donba’s Industrial Region in eastern Ukraine, which includes the regions Donetsk and Luhansk. Despite steady progress, about 25% of Donetsk remains in addition to Russian control.
Putin also wants full control over Ukraine’s Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions; NATO membership to be taken off the table for Kiev; And limits to the size of Ukraine’s armed forces.
Ukraine has said that these terms are unacceptable and similar to asking it to capitulate.
