R Krishna Das
American President Donald Trump gave Russian President Vladimir Putin a warm public reception but the latter did not agree to stop the war with Ukraine that has been the focus of discussion.
The former KGB agent and the former real-estate mogul on Friday met in Alaska, a former Russian territory sold to the U.S. in 1867. They exchanged pleasantries, but revealed few details about their talks.
They however reached no agreement to end the war in Ukraine at a high-profile summit meeting, although they reported making unspecified progress during a strikingly convivial reunion on American soil. If diplomatic experts are to be believed, Putin has already scored a key victory before he has even sat down at the negotiating table.
The meeting has effectively ended Putin’s diplomatic isolation over the past three years for his invasion of Ukraine. The meeting is already a victory for Putin, said one of the experts said, adding that it had put him in a more favorable position and he will reap it to further his objectives.
Putin has literally succeeded in buying time, delay further U.S. sanctions and in the meantime solidify military gains on the battlefield. By engaging in a one-on-one meeting on Ukraine before a ceasefire, Trump has already made a concession and therefore risks more than Putin. Trump had previously threatened to hit Moscow with steep secondary sanctions if it did not agree to a ceasefire by August 8, an ultimatum that went unheeded by the Kremlin.
Putin can use this opportunity to re-engage with Trump directly and subsequently drive a wedge between the U.S. and Europe, which supports Ukraine.
Despite mounting frustration with Moscow’s repeated refusals to agree to a ceasefire, U.S., as stated by The White House, had agreed to host the meeting as the idea for the peace talks came from Putin himself. The Russian President has also succeeded in isolating Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who was sidelined from the negotiations despite multiple calls from Kyiv and European allies that the war-torn country must take part in talks that determine its future.
Moscow currently occupies about 20 per cent of Ukraine’s territory and insists that these lands be formally recognized as Russian as a condition for peace.
