Let us be blunt: The Trump-Putin meeting in Alaska was an embarrassment and very likely will prove to be a disaster.
The hype proceeding the summit stressed that the first step in ending the Ukraine war was a cease-fire. President Trump probably anticipated more than gaining only some agreement on Ukraine.
Otherwise, the Treasury secretary and U.S. business leaders would not have been present anticipating deals with Russian counterparts.
The optimism was palpable. Stage managed from the beginning, at least according to Fox News, the president ordered F-35 Lightning fighters lined up on the runway, and a B-2 flyover escorted by F-22’s to impress his counterpart.
Much of this advice probably came from his envoy, Steve Witkoff, who met Putin in Moscow and was in frequent contact with key Russians. Witkoff’s business was real estate. As the Economist notes, he was a foreign policy neophyte who misread or was misled by what he heard in Moscow.
Not only did the flyover fail to impress Putin, but the Russians cleverly one-upped the Americans.
Word quickly spread to the U.S. press that chicken Kyiv had been served to the Russian press before they landed in Alaska for the summit. And Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov arrived wearing a sweater with the Cyrillic letters “CCCP” emblazoned on it, Russian for the Soviet Union.
A close friend in Moscow told me privately that CCCP had not been the first choice for the sweater. Putin or Lavrov favored a term that is essentially the Russian equivalent to the middle finger salute. But it was decided that since no one in the official U.S. senior delegation spoke Russian, the jab would be missed.
Comedian Bill Maher quipped that had lunch been served, the chef was preparing a carved up Ukraine.
Despite the great expectations, Trump folded, abandoning the cease-fire he had proposed as the first step. Instead, he rapidly reversed course, conceding to Putin that a peace agreement took priority.
In his posting on Truth Social, Trump bragged that it was “A great and very successful day in Alaska!” and that the meeting with Putin and calls with Zelensky, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte and other European leaders “went very well.”
“It was determined by all that the best way to end the horrific war between Russia and Ukraine is to go directly to a Peace Agreement, which would end the war, and not a mere Ceasefire Agreement, which often times do not hold up,” he continued.
At the abbreviated press conference following the three hour meeting, it was Putin who carried the day. His lecture — not statement — recognized the great friendship between the U.S. and Soviet Union during the war and memorials in Alaska and Russia marking fallen aviators.
Russia is a close neighbor, he pointed out: Two islands in the Barents Sea belonging to the U.S. and Russia are only four kilometers apart.
Putin restated his aims in purposely shrouded but unmistakable language. Ukraine was part of Russia and Russia will end the war — but only on Putin’s terms, he clearly inferred.
NATO and Europe were cautioned to stay clear. And Putin flattered and then again recognized his great friendship with Trump.
Trump will be criticized for his deferential treatment of Putin, under warrant for war crimes, particularly riding alone with him in the presidential limo, “the Beast.”
Few could have missed the smirk on Putin’s face as the Beast drove off. But Trump did not comprehend that flattery or persona would not have any effect on Putin.
During Putin’s lecture, Trump appeared old, tired and deflated. Given his often theatrical and dynamic presentations at press conferences, Trump displayed traces of Joe Biden’s hapless performance at the presidential debate ending his candidacy.
Trump mumbled about Russia Gate and how it disrupted relations with Putin. He finally concluded by thanking his good friend Vladimir for a very successful meeting.
What next? With the absence of any real agreement, tragically, Ukraine’s fate probably has been sealed, despite yesterday’s White House meeting with President Zelensky and several European leaders. Trump has cleverly shifted all military aid and support for Ukraine to Europe.
Having made considerable effort to end the war, Trump is likely to conclude it is now up to Putin and Zelensky to work out a deal with or without the U.S. as he, Trump, has done enough.
That then will leave Chef Putin to carve up Ukraine.
Harlan Ullman, Ph.D., is UPI’s Arnaud deBorchgrave Distinguished Columnist, a senior advisor at the Atlantic Council, the chairman of two private companies and the principal author of the doctrine of shock and awe. He and former United Kingdom Defense Chief David Richards are the authors of a forthcoming book on preventing strategic catastrophe.
