US President Donald Trump and Russian dictator Vladimir Putin will meet in Alaska, a place of historical significance for both countries, and it is clear that each will go to the meeting with a different idea of the desired outcome, writes the BBC.
Putin has not backed down from his demand to acquire Ukrainian territory, while Trump does not hide his desire to be an international peacemaker. However, both could also use other opportunities, for example, for Putin the meeting is an opportunity to return to the world diplomatic stage. It is more difficult to understand what other motives are driving Trump, given his contradictory statements.
Part of what is expected from the meeting, the Russian dictator has already received. It is recognition. The US recognition that Western efforts to isolate Putin have not been successful. The very fact that such a high-level meeting is taking place confirms this, as does the joint press conference announced by the Kremlin.
The place where the leaders of the great powers will meet is also important – Alaska is historically significant for Russia, and even now it can give the Russians a lot. First, in the field of security – the mainland of Alaska is only 90 kilometers away from the mainland of Russia. The outermost islands of the two countries are separated by only less than five kilometers. This means that Putin can get there without crossing the airspace of “hostile” countries. Second, the largest state in the USA is far from Ukraine and Europe, and thus the Russians can avoid any presence of the leaders of European countries.
Russia also uses Alaska as an example of how the borders of even large territories can change,
thus justifying its desire to seize almost a fifth of the territory of Ukraine and forgetting that Alaska itself was sold and no one occupied it.
However, that is not all, international recognition and symbolism alone are not enough for Putin – Moscow wants to keep both the territories it currently occupies in Ukraine and demands that Ukrainians leave the territories over which it has no control. This is unacceptable to Kiev, and Ukrainians categorically deny the possibility of returning the land to the occupiers.
On the other hand, the Russian economy is feeling serious pressure, war is expensive. Export revenues are gradually falling, inflation is rising, and this could force the Kremlin to accept compromises.
Trump has repeatedly boasted that ending the war in Ukraine is easy, and he could do it in just a few days. However, this has turned out to be a more difficult task than the US president had thought, and now, since taking office, he has been dissatisfied with both the Ukrainians and the Russians. In recent months, Moscow has faced more criticism from Trump. In July, Trump promised sanctions on both Russia and its trading partners, but, like other promises, the US president has reneged on this one as well, and will host a Russian delegation on his own soil on the 15th of August.
Any assumptions about Trump’s possible actions and offers are made unclear by his confusing and evasive statements.
This week, the US president has tried to reduce expectations about the outcome of the meeting, no longer promising a ceasefire in Ukraine. It is possible that Trump has realized that achieving a ceasefire with only one party involved at the negotiating table is impossible. According to Trump, the meeting will be more about understanding the situation and mood.
In the case of the US president, the only thing that can really be expected is unexpected action. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and European leaders met virtually with the US president on the 13th of August, trying to persuade Trump not to make a deal with Russia that Kiev is unwilling or unable to accept.
What is clear is that Trump would gladly accept the opportunity to be with the man who ended the war; he has made no secret of his desire to receive the Nobel Peace Prize.
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