With the summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin fast approaching, the White House has begun to color its rhetoric. That hugely important conversation is happening this week on the Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska. Organizing officials confirmed that Trump intended to approach the meeting as a “listen and learn” exercise. His first order of business should be to understand Putin’s thinking rather than jumping to make quick deals over Ukraine’s current war.
The White House has tempered expectations about the possibility of achieving a deal that could bring an end to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. As election day looms, Kyiv and its European allies are right to be alarmed by the developing frustrated Trump fodder. As such, they fear that he will approve of peace, even offering up necessary conscience-quality territorial concessions.
Karoline Leavitt, a White House spokesperson, played up the unreality of the meeting to come.
“This is a listening exercise for the president. Look, only one party that’s involved in this war is going to be present,” – Karoline Leavitt
He argues that Ukraine would stand to gain the most if Putin overreaches with his demands. Trump proposed that more extreme preconditions would increase the boiling point of anger inside the White House, shifting the atmosphere of negotiations.
At the same time, Putin’s maximalist terms aren’t negotiable for any kind of resolution allowing peace in Ukraine. This creates a strong platform for the summit. All eyes will continue to be on the occupied territories as well. Furthermore, Ukraine has to give up its NATO membership hopes. Now Putin is demanding new elections in Ukraine. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has firmly denied this assertion, arguing that Kyiv must be involved in any discussions for a lasting outcome.
Zelenskyy has made his concerns known over the potential outcomes of the sham summit. He’s particularly alarmed, given that Trump has repeatedly attacked Russia and Ukraine in U.S.-brokered negotiations.
“So the conversation between Putin and Trump may be important for their bilateral track, but they cannot agree on anything about Ukraine without us,” – Volodymyr Zelenskyy
Adding to the convolutions of this present scenario, EU leaders have stressed lately that any peace process must include respect for Ukraine’s territorial integrity. They are deeply suspicious of plans that would risk Ukraine’s sovereignty or worse, encumber Ukraine with the responsibility for territorial concessions.
Amid all these talks, Trump has proposed the idea of “land swapping” between the fighting parties. It is still not clear which Russian territories would be affected by such proposals.
“There will be some land swapping going on. I know that through Russia and through conversations with everybody. To the good, for the good of Ukraine. Good stuff, not bad stuff. Also some bad stuff, for both,” – Donald Trump
His comments have alarmed critics who worry that he will choose expediency and short-term gain rather than focus on what is best for Ukraine in the long term. Even Kaja Kallas, the Prime Minister of Estonia, one of the most hawkish on Russia, professes doubts about Trump’s sincerity. She fears that his desperate desire for a photo op with Putin will sink substantive negotiations.
“doesn’t want Zelenskyy around that table, because that would reveal that he actually doesn’t want to negotiate, and he just wants to have a picture with President Trump and also postpone sanctions,” – Kaja Kallas
As the military operations of Russia ramp up their attempts to consolidate control, the situation in Ukraine continues to deteriorate. This step is presumably meant to bolster its hand before negotiations start in earnest. The White House further retaliated against India by imposing an additional 25% tariff due to India’s continued purchase of Russian oil. This move contributes yet another layer of tension to the increasingly hostile international context leading up to the summit.