Trump, Putin meet in Alaska for Ukraine peace talks; world watches closely
New Delhi will also watch the high-voltage talks closely, as a disappointing outcome could impact trade tariffs
Meetings between top leaders of the US and Russia have always been crunch moments in world politics. Starting from the Cold War days when America and the erstwhile Soviet Union were at loggerheads and meetings between the presidents of the two superpowers marked détente, the relationship is no less tense even after the end of the Cold War.
The meeting between US President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Friday, August 15, is another such blockbuster moment in global politics, and besides the two countries, the international community will closely watch the developments amid the war in Ukraine and Trump’s trade onslaught against many nations, including India.
New Delhi recently drew the US’s wrath in terms of 50 per cent tariff on trade for buying Russian oil. The American treasury secretary even warned earlier this week that US tariffs on India could go further up if the talks in Alaska did not deliver the desired results.
Push for Ukraine peace
The meeting, which is scheduled to take place at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Anchorage, will see the American leader pushing for peace in Ukraine. On Thursday, August 14, the Republican told reporters at the White House that he would understand the meeting’s result within the first five minutes.
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According to a CNN report, Trump said the meeting would end “very quickly” if it is a bad one, and peace would be achieved quickly if it’s a good one. The leader, who has bragged about stopping a number of regional wars in the first six months of taking power, has been frustrated by the Ukraine war’s continuation which he repeatedly pledged to stop in no time.
Trump has also threatened of “severe consequences” against Russia if Putin did not agree to end the conflict, which started in 2022. He has also claimed that had he been the president in 2022, Putin wouldn’t have launched the military invasion of Ukraine.
According to other reports, Trump also claimed that the tariffs imposed on India for purchasing oil from Russia influenced Moscow's decision to seek a meeting with his administration, as the country was losing its "second largest customer".
Russia expresses hope
The Russian side has expressed hope about the meeting. Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the Kremlin feels “useful conversation” would continue during the talks in Alaska.
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Putin has also praised Trump’s efforts to end the war. Speaking with senior officials in Moscow on Thursday, he said in his opinion, Washington DC was making “energetic and sincere efforts” to bring an end to the fighting.
Yuri Ushakov, an aide to Putin on foreign policy and Russia’s former envoy to the US, said while Ukraine would be the main focus at the meeting, wider security and economic issues would also be taken up.
Trump and Putin, who met six times during the former’s first stint (2017-21), with the one in Helsinki catching maximum headlines for controversial reasons, agreed last week to hold the meeting as the US president pushes for a breakthrough in the year that has caused extensive damage.
The summit will be the Russian president’s first known trip to a Western nation since the Ukraine war broke out three and a half years ago.
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Trump also publicly mooted the idea of a territorial swap between Russia and Ukraine, but neither of the warring sides showed any interest.
Zelenskyy's absence
The absence of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the meeting stirred uneasiness in the diplomatic circles. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who met Zelenskyy on Thursday, repeatedly said, along with other Ukrainian leaders, that Kiev should be part of any talks centred on its future.
Trump, however, said the Ukrainian leader was not deliberately excluded from the meeting and that a second meeting with him could follow next.
New Delhi, which has bought oil from Russia at a cheaper price since the war started, will keep a close watch on the outcomes of the Putin-Trump talks as it could determine whether the White House imposes even steeper tariffs on key imports.
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The meeting in Alaska also takes place hours after Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced his government’s intention to make the country self-reliant in a sweeping speech delivered on the occasion of Independence Day on Friday.
(With Agency inputs)