Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin will not only mention the possibility of ending the war in Ukraine at the summit on Friday in Alaska. The Kremlin Councilor, Iuri Ochakov, has announced that the two heads of state will also discuss “the immense potential not exploited” in matters of economic relations between Russia and the United States. This meeting will be the first among American and Russian leaders since June 2021 and, therefore, the first from the Russian invasion of Ukraine began in February 2022.
During this summit, which will begin at 11:30 am local time (7:30 PM GMT), the two men will meet in front of their respective delegations. In addition to Iuri Ochakov, the Russian delegation will be composed of Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Defense Minister Andreï Belosov, Finance Minister Anton Silouanov and Kirill Dmitriev, special envoy of Vladimir Putin for investment and economic cooperation.
A first attempt to meet in January
As soon as he returned to power last January, Donald Trump wanted to rekindle the warm relationship he had with Vladimir Putin during his first mandate in the White House and presented himself to present himself as the only one capable of stopping the war in Ukraine. He expressed his sympathy regarding the Russian president, isolated on the international scene since the invasion of Ukraine, and promised to end the conflict in just twenty -four hours.
Washington has brought together with Moscow, some representatives of the Trump administration even transmitting arguments of the Kremlin, to dismay of kyiv and its European allies. The guest of the Podcast of the conservative columnist Tucker Carlson last March, Steve Witkoff hinted that Russia was right to want to control four Ukrainian regions: Donetsk, Louhansk, Zaporijjia and Kherson, because, he said, “they are Russians.”
Spectacularly, at the end of February at the White House, he lives in front of cameras around the world, Donald Trump and his vice president JD Vance vigorously rebuked Volodimir Zelensky for their war management. The US president also described his Ukrainian counterpart as a “dictator” and criticized kyiv for having triggered the conflict.
“Very severe consequences”
Although all this was appreciated in Moscow, Russian officials did not follow the movement that Donald Trump wanted to stimulate towards a peace agreement with Ukraine. The direct negotiations claimed by the US president and organized in Türkiye did not allow significant advances, the two parties camped in their positions. Vladimir Putin spoke several times with Donald Trump, but did not release military pressure on Ukraine, on the contrary, the Russian army has intensified its air attacks. When describing this blood bath, the US president raised the tone in July, complaining about the attitude of his Russian counterpart.
Again, on Wednesday, Donald Trump threatened Russia with “very severe consequences” if Vladimir Putin led to peace efforts in Ukraine, after an interview with several European leaders and Ukrainian President Volodimir Zelensky. The uncertainty about the result of the Trump putina summit has amplified the fears of Europeans for several days to see that US and Russian presidents make two of the main decisions related to Ukraine, and then forcing kyiv to accept an unfavorable agreement, particularly in relation to territories exchanges.
A second project of the summit that is integrated Ukraine
Speaking in front of journalists after a virtual meeting with European leaders and Volodimir Zelensky on Wednesday, Donald Trump said he could organize a second summit, to which the Ukrainian President would be invited this time, if the discussions in Alaski with Vladimir Putin were going well. Until now, the Russian President has ignored the calls of his Ukrainian counterpart to a face to face.
Moscow did not reveal any signal that suggested that he was willing to make concessions. Kyiv says that he wants, before negotiating any agreement, that a high fire is in force and that security guarantees are provided. Donald Trump enrolled in the Europeans on Wednesday on Wednesday that territorial problems were negotiated with Ukraine as part of a possible high fire agreement with Russia, said French president Emmanuel Macron.
Source: BFM TV
