There have been few political meetings as relentlessly hyped as Trump’s meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska yesterday, even though the White House had done its best in recent days to tamp down expectations. After all, the President of the United States, the most powerful man on Earth and purported leader of the West was literally rolling out the red carpet for a man wanted by the International Criminal Court and who had authorised an invasion of a ... Read more...
There have been few political meetings as relentlessly hyped as Trump’s meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska yesterday, even though the White House had done its best in recent days to tamp down expectations.
After all, the President of the United States, the most powerful man on Earth and purported leader of the West was literally rolling out the red carpet for a man wanted by the International Criminal Court and who had authorised an invasion of a neighbouring independent country that has seen hundreds of thousands of people killed. Trump even applauded Putin as the Russian leader strolled towards him and warmly greeted him, both men clearly relishing the moment.
Whilst several hours of talks followed, the bald truth is that Putin had achieved most of what he wanted in those first few highly telegenic minutes. Here was the cracking of the cordon sanitaire the West had imposed on Russia in the immediate aftermath of its unprovoked invasion, broken at the instigation of the President of the United States himself and the return of Russia to the global stage.
And what did Trump extract from Putin in return for this immense concession?
Not a damn thing.
Trump and Putin emerged from their talks with no ceasefire, with the Russian leader clearly sticking doggedly to his insistence on ‘removing the causes of the conflict’ which is code for the destruction of Ukraine as an independent state wherein the best outcome that can be hoped for is that a rump version of the country exists as a demilitarised satellite of the Russian Federation.
Trump had clearly hoped to produce some kind of breakthrough due to his ill-concealed hunger for the Nobel Peace Prize, which many believe he desires because his great rival Barack Obama was awarded the prize in 2009. This desire had many other Western states and Ukraine deeply worried about the one-on-one meeting between Trump and Putin as they feared his desire to be seen as a peacemaker would leave him amenable to ANY peace, rather than a fair or a just one.
Ultimately, Trump didn’t emerge from the meeting brandishing a piece of paper declaring ‘peace for our time‘ and the Ukrainians can breathe a sigh of relief that they were not a modern victim of great power realpolitik just yet. The failure to achieve anything at the summit after so much build-up means Trump leaves Anchorage in a position he hates, having come off the worse for the interaction.
Putin may not have gotten Trump to return Alaska to Russia but he leaves the clear victor. His international isolation has been broken, he has been feted by the American President on American territory, he conceded nothing on his core points and even managed once again to delay the imposition of the swingeing tariffs Trump has long threatened on Russia but never actually gets around to carrying out.
At the end of the summit, Putin asked Trump ‘Next time in Moscow?’ Trump may as well take him up on the offer.
It is clear Moscow is calling the shots.
