After a good three hours, both gentlemen said goodbye. Donald Trump flew to Washington, and Vladimir Putin to Moscow. And the world wonders what they talked about and what they agreed. They both retained elegant restraint.
Nothing could be done except generating unnecessary costs? That would be cynical. There is a wide space between black and white, which is a gray zone of politics. And it is in this gray zone that we move the next day after the meeting.
Say that Putin comes out victorious from the meeting, it's like saying nothing. Contrary to appearances, Donald Trump may also feel winning. But this is not the end of this list. Unfortunately, there are also losers. The least is talked about.
French painter Paul Cézanne once said: “Until you paint gray, you are not a painter.” Philosopher Peter Sloterdijk developed this thought and wrote: “Until you think about gray, you are not a philosopher.”
And in the world of politics, it should be said: “who does not know gray, is not a diplomat. Because the gray zone between yesterday and tomorrow, it was between it and it may be, it is a natural environmental environment.”
In this sense that night we did not witness party policy or the loud rhetoric of two superego, which many were afraid, but two politicians who were walking on the fragile ice, who tried to spoil nothing and increase the field of room for peace.
Continuation of the material under the video
Three winners and losers
However, despite the ambiguities of the results are the winners and losers.
Vladimir Putin is the first winner: Russian president – an economically punished by the West and prosecuted by justice – gained a maximum reputation. He was on a par with the US President.
He could present his version of the causes of the war in Ukraine to both Trump and world public opinion. His topic was A threat to the interests of the national security of the Russians, i.e. the NATO extension to the east.
Putin was no longer seen as a bloodthirsty aggressor, but as a man with his interests. The West was no longer seen as a guardian of peace and freedom, but as a player who did not see, he did not feel and did not take into account Russian interests. This is how wars arise.
Andrew Caballero-Reynolds / AFP / AFP
Russian President Vladimir Putin (left) smiles during the speech of the US President Donald Trump at a joint press conference after the USA-Russia summit in the matter of Ukraine, which took place on August 15, 2025 at the Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage in Alaska.
Putin was a commander who even Trump did not deny. There was no word that Putin must withdraw his troops, give away the occupied territories, and the Crimean Peninsula was clearly recognized as Russian territory.
In an interview with Fox News, Trump also announced that the planned duties on Chinese goods will not be introduced yet. This is also important for Putin: countries that are his friends will no longer be punished for their friendship. Something is happening. The stock exchange should appreciate this on Monday.
The second winner is not so brilliant, but still the winner: Donald Trump. He managed to add to his personality, which was always accompanied by something frivolous, a reflective accent. We did not see a loud, flashy and aggressive politician, but a man who speaks quietly and carefully.
And so it really happened.
The PR show had a break. This is what diplomacy looks like: careful probation, ambiguity, leaving open possibilities, no specific arrangements.
Trump again:
The third winner is undoubtedly Wołodymyr Zelnski. Today he was the first to receive information and will participate in the next meeting. Trump did not make any concession without his consent, he did not reflect any territory and did not arise any accusations against Ukraine. Zelanski was the third to the geopolitical bridge. Absent, but still present. There can be no agreement without him. Trump understood it and he was sticking to it tonight [czasu w Europie].
Soldiers on the front are clearly losing tonight tonight – On both sides. There is no room or even a weapon suspension. Shooting and death can continue. About 7,000 people die in this war a week. According to UN data, the total number of victims may exceed 200,000
There are still many issues remains a great puzzle. What exactly did they talk about? At what point did they get stuck? But history, and certainly not the history of diplomacy, is not written in capital letters and is not written in one string. In this sense, we woke up in a world where a serious fight for peace is taking place, for equalizing interests.
“Wherever you talk, you don't shoot” – may Egon Bahr's opinion soon work in the case of soldiers in the trenches.
I’m Ashley Davis as an editor, I’m committed to upholding the highest standards of integrity and accuracy in every piece we publish. My work is driven by curiosity, a passion for truth, and a belief that journalism plays a crucial role in shaping public discourse. I strive to tell stories that not only inform but also inspire action and conversation.
