Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin got together for their Alaska summit on Friday to discuss how they were looking to potentially put an end to Russia’s invasive attacks on Ukraine. Although the high-stakes summit ended on a “no deal” inconclusion, the US president eventually put the onus of a ceasefire on his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who was not part of the talks on August 15.
While Zelenskyy has yet to officially comment on what transpired in Alaska in his absence this week, a few other Ukrainian officials have already sounded the alarm on the situation at hand. Some have already lost all hopes of a peace deal. Prior to the meeting, the Ukrainian president also sent out a warning, saying that his Russian counterpart would try his all to “deceive America.” And now, officials from his country are already queuing up with similar after-thoughts.
Ukrainian officials speak out on inconclusive Trump-Putin summit
Oleksandr Merezhko, the chairman of the foreign affairs committee in the Ukrainian Parliament, noted that, after the Trump-Putin summit, the Russian president was no longer in his diplomatic isolation. “He won the informational war,” he said, while claiming that Putin’s meet-up with Trump had now made him seem like an equal to the American leader. “He used Trump to show that he is not isolated.”
While Ukraine’s fate hung in the balance, the lack of conclusive remarks from either leaders involved in the summit just pumped up the country’s anxiety. In the aftermath of it all, Ukrainian politician Oleksandr Merezhko’s statements followed suit, as he noted that the meeting was yet another nail in the coffin, proving that peace talks were a far cry, at least for now. “I think it’s a failure because Putin was again talking about security concerns and used his usual rhetoric,” he said. “I don’t see any changes.”
Another official from the country noticed that the Trump-Putin summit had merely granted the Russian leader more time, and nothing else that worked in their favour. “It seems that Putin has gained more time. No ceasefire or de-escalation has been agreed upon,” Ukrainian Member of Parliament Oleksiy Goncharenko said on Telegram.
Former Trump official agrees Putin was the bigger winner of Alaska meet
John Bolton, President Trump’s former national security advisor, also agreed on the matter, noting that Putin was the clear winner of Friday’s meeting. “Trump did not lose, but Putin clearly won,” he admitted, adding that Trump had only gone away from the Alaska meeting to end up with more on horizon. Putin, on the other hand, “has gone a long way to reestablishing the relationship, which I always believed was his key goal,” according to Bolton.
He further noted that as Putin had escaped sanctions and was not facing a ceasefire, at least not after the Friday meeting, things are far from over. “The next meeting is not set. Zelensky was not told any of this before this press conference. It’s far from over, but I’d say Putin achieved most of what he wanted. Trump achieved very little,” he added.