The summit is over and the next round is reportedly cancelled.
Lie of the Day
In our lie of the day, Trump Grades Putin Summit a ‘10,’ According to Fox News via the WSJ.
Fox News reported that President Trump graded his summit with Russian leader Vladimir Putin a “10” on a scale of 1 to 10, after taping an interview in Alaska with host Sean Hannity.
Roundup
President Trump has left Alaska after meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, delivering brief press remarks and taping an interview with Fox News that was set to air later Friday evening.
Trump didn’t take questions from reporters before boarding Air Force One.
Well, that was anticlimactic.
With the eyes of the world on them, President Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin met for a high-stakes summit in Alaska to discuss ending the war in Ukraine. But the second of two scheduled meetings appeared to be scrapped and the joint press conference was short with little substance discussed. Neither Trump nor Putin took questions from reporters, a sign that there was not much to talk about despite the geopolitical drama.
Here are three takeaways from the Anchorage summit.
No Progress: The brief press conference with Trump and Putin indicated they made no real progress in their negotiations to end the war in Ukraine. Trump said he would make some calls and that there might be a future discussion with Putin–perhap even in Moscow–but otherwise they made no specific announcement about approaching a deal to end the war. In effect, Putin got a meeting in the U.S. with the American president–ending his international isolation–despite no evidence that he conceded anything.
Next Steps Unclear: Trump previously threatened that if he didn’t get a cease-fire in Alaska, he would impose “severe consequences” on Russia and might even withdraw the U.S. from the peace process he launched altogether. Now, with no deal in hand, it’s unclear what Trump will do. But one thing is for sure: the war will continue, which is bad news for Ukraine and better news for Russia, as Putin has shown no intention of wanting to stop the fight.
Warmth: Trump and Putin appeared to be very friendly for most of their hours together in Alaska, beginning with a red-carpet greeting. Trump clapped for Putin as the Russian leader walked toward him for an opening hand shake. After a quick stop in front of the cameras, Trump invited Putin into “The Beast,” the famous U.S. armored limo, for a ride to the meeting venue even though the Russian’s transport was nearby.
Trump has long trumpeted his relationship with Putin. However, that warmth seemed to evaporate at the press conference, where Trump looked frustrated and tired after an about about 2 ½ hours hour meeting with Putin. That was supposed to be the first of two sessions, but after it ended, both leaders went straight to the press conference–with nothing to announce.
During the joint press conference, both President Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin signaled that they had reached agreement on some issues—without describing what they were. Putin then went on to not-so-vaguely warn European countries and Ukraine from derailing whatever progress both leaders claimed to make.
“I would like to hope that the agreement that we’ve reached together will help us bring closer that goal and will pave the path towards peace in Ukraine. We expect that Kyiv and European capitals will perceive that constructively and that they won’t throw a wrench in the works. They will not make any attempts to use some backroom dealings to conduct provocations to torpedo the nascent progress,” Putin said.
No Questions Says It All
NBC Reports Trump doesn’t speak with press before boarding Air Force One
Trump boarded Air Force One en route back to Washington, D.C., and did not stop to speak with reporters, as he often does while traveling.
He also did not take any questions from the press at what was billed as a joint news conference with Putin after the summit. Putin also did not take questions.
Putin seems to have come out of the summit having racked up a few wins, getting the full red-carpet treatment with — at least in public — no threats of sanctions from Trump and no urgent pressure to make concessions in the war in Ukraine.
It’s still too soon to know precisely what was discussed after neither leader divulged details of their conversation. But for the moment, Putin appears to have bought himself more time despite Trump having set deadlines in July for immediate progress on a ceasefire.
Just as important for the Russian president, Putin was treated as an important leader of a powerful country, not a pariah indicted for war crimes who has presided over an unprovoked invasion in the heart of Europe. The summit’s optics were surely how the Kremlin wanted to portray the event: a meeting of equals, with Ukraine given secondary status.
Senator Mark Kelly
I had hoped for the best but expected this outcome.
Many points were allegedly agreed to. Neither Trump nor Putin named any. However, a confidential source provided this list.
- Both are in favor of mom and apple pie
- Neither likes turnip pudding
- They both proclaim to want an end to the war soon
One now has to wonder if Trump will out any additional pressure on Putin or not.
If not, Putin just got out of the summit what he wanted, more time.
Let’s be honest. Calling this a 10 is idiotic.
Addendum – WSJ Editorial
It was notable that Mr. Putin spent most of his soliloquy in front of the press flattering Mr. Trump, endorsing the U.S. President’s view that the war would never have happened if Mr. Trump had been in office in 2022, and extolling the possibilities for U.S.-Russia business ties. With his economy struggling, Mr. Putin wants financial relief.
In that sense the Russian achieved one of his major goals from the summit, which is the start of his rehabilitation as a world leader. The summit ended his isolation from the West, and he gave up nothing for it. He also appears to have gained more time to continue bombing Ukrainian cities and slowly taking more territory.
It isn’t clear what Mr. Trump gained. He had told the press that he would be angry if no cease-fire emerged from the parley, but Mr. Trump showed no pique afterward. Perhaps there was some quiet concession Mr. Trump will take back to Ukraine, and if so we will know that soon enough.
If there was nothing but niceties and a Putin stonewall, then Mr. Trump will have to decide if he will follow through on the red lines he has drawn. On Wednesday he had promised “very severe consequences” if Mr. Putin didn’t agree to end the war. Will he now move to impose sanctions on such buyers of Russian oil as China and Turkey as he has India? Or will he agree to a second summit, as Mr. Putin seems to want, in hope that next time will be different?
Putin made a bet on another TACO, that Trump would back down on consequences.
It’s early, but it appears Putin won his bet.
