Alaska: what did the Trump-Putin meeting achieve?
Following the meeting between US President Donald Trump and Russian Kremlin boss Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Friday, both sides praised the good atmosphere and constructive talks, but no concrete results were apparent. Europe's press takes stock.
Hope dies last
Český rozhlas is disappointed:
“The Russian dictator received honours and respect in the United States that do no befit an aggressor and internationally wanted criminal. During the press conference not a word was said about the ceasefire that was supposed to be the point of the whole exercise, nor of the sanctions and other penalties with which Trump had threatened Putin on Thursday. Putin can calmly go on bombing Ukrainian cities. ... At best, we can hope that a process has been set in motion that will ultimately lead to more pressure from the West on Russia in Ukraine's favour. The first chapter was perhaps just a warm-up. Hope dies last.”
US president behaving like a tamed bear
Correio da Manhã finds Trump's flattering stance worrying:
“It was all very strange at the Alaska summit. An American president rolling out the red carpet for the Russian autocrat and applauding him on his arrival is one of the most bizarre spectacles we have ever witnessed. ... The Russian president seems to wield some kind of influence over the American president, who behaves like a different person in his presence, using measured words, timidly expressed ideas, without any trace of his usual impulsiveness. Next to Putin, Trump looked like a tamed and submissive bear. This unconscious signal does not bode well for the future of Ukraine.”
Suddenly no more talk of sanctions
The Irish Times sees Trump pursuing a deleterious policy of appeasement:
“He now believes a rapid deal is possible if Ukraine hands over the remainder of the Donbas, including areas not occupied by Russian troops. In exchange, Putin has offered a ceasefire along current battle lines and a written promise never to strike Ukraine or Europe again. History offers ample evidence of the hollowness of such promises. Only days ago, Trump was threatening new economic penalties should Putin walk away from Alaska without a deal. Those threats have now been shelved. Once again, the US has moved at Putin's pace, not its own.”
Moscow's promises not worth much
Denník Postoj warns against putting too much faith in Russia's promises:
“If we're talking about Russia agreeing to guarantees, as Trump suggests, it would likely just a watered-down version of Nato's Article 5. Given their experience with the 1994 Budapest Memorandum [under which Ukraine relinquished its Soviet-era nuclear weapons in exchange for promises of security], Ukrainians may well have a problem with this. Being able to take the rest of Donbas without having to fight for it and with the blessing of the international community, in exchange for security guarantees that are in fact worth nothing would be a dream scenario for the Russians. But it can hardly be a fast track to peace. So after Alaska, scepticism is called for.”
A series of mistakes
Putin has left Alaska as the undisputed winner, European Pravda sums up:
“Although the worst possible scenario was avoided and no one tried to decide Ukraine's fate behind its back, the US president made a series of other mistakes. Putin definitively escaped international isolation. ... And he also ensured that Trump would refrain from imposing new sanctions on Russia for the time being. ... And finally, Trump conceded that the outcome of the talks would be his 'agreement' with Putin on a territorial swap between Ukraine and Russia – despite his public assurances that this wouldn't be a subject of the negotiations.”
At least no major bust-up
Der Spiegel sees certain positive aspects:
“The Alaskan summit didn't upturn the world order. It's not much worse than it was before, even after Alaska. That's one piece of good news from this summit. The other is that it didn't derail like Trump's meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the Oval Office at the end of February. Although it's hard to find anything positive amid all the perplexity following this summit: the fact that a conversation between the world's two largest nuclear powers took place without a major collision has value in itself. Things could have been very different.”
About business, not peace
The issue of Ukraine played a minor role at the Alaska summit, 24 Chasa fears:
“In all likelihood there was a deal in Alaska – maybe even more than one. Not about Ukraine, however, but about common interests in the Arctic, rare and not-so-rare metals, and joint projects. ... The meeting in Alaska was also planned as a way to circumvent the tough ultimatum on extensive indirect sanctions in the form of tariffs against Russian oil buyers. Now all talk of this has been forgotten and a new soother has been handed out: Putin, Trump, Zelensky and a few European leaders will meet for talks.”