Reactions after the Trump-Putin meeting in Alaska. A Russian general exults: “unwavering” / what the Ukrainians say
Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin, summit in Alaska. Photo: Julia Demaree Nikhinson / AP / Profimedia
The Alaska summit does not seem to have taken a step towards an armistice, but Russia believes the meeting was a success, writes New York Times and The Guardian.
Andrei Guruliov, a reserve general and currently a member of the Russian Parliament, said that Putin's statements during the meeting with Trump on Friday showed that the position of the Kremlin is “unwavering”.
If there was an important achievement, he wrote on his Telegram channel, this was that Putin could explain directly to Trump, the New York Times writes.
Western observers had already warned the Trump administration that Putin has not changed its position and that it was not prepared for an armistice. The summit, they said, represents a victory for Putin because the invitation to the US removes it from the isolation imposed by the Western world.
The official representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia, Maria Zaharova, illustrated this shade, commenting on his Telegram channel the warm reception offered by Trump to Putin.
“The Western press is in a state that can be called madness, at the limit of total madness: for three years they talked about the isolation of Russia, and today they saw the red carpet that welcomed the Russian president in the United States,” said Zaharova, quoted by Tass.
While Russia exults, however, the Ukrainians will be worried that, at the conference, Vladimir Putin spoke again about the “deep causes” of the conflict and said that only their elimination will lead to a sustainable peace.
Translated from the Kremlin's language, this means that it is still determined to pursue the initial objective of the “special military operation” – namely, the abolition of Ukraine as an independent state, writes The Guardian.
There was no immediate reaction from Kiev after the summit. The deputy from the Ukrainian opposition Oleksii Honcearenko, however, noted that Putin had to win.
“It seems that Putin has been earning more time. It has not been agreed on any armistice or desolation,” the official said.
Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky said in a statement that he welcomes Trump's efforts, but he doubts Putin's interest in an agreement.
“If Putin had been serious about peace negotiations, he would not have attacked Ukraine all day,” he said.
