According to Western experts, Russian President Vladimir Putin was "rewarded" for his invasion of Ukraine with a summit with US President Donald Trump, BTA reported, citing PI Media/DPA.
The summit, which took place at a military base in Anchorage in the northernmost US state - Alaska, was intended to kick-start the process of ending the war in Ukraine. However, it appears that the summit's contribution to this end was essentially very small. Trump stressed that "a lot of progress" had been made, that "a lot of points" had been agreed upon, and "a lot of things" remained unresolved issues.
Meanwhile, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer praised the US president for his efforts to achieve peace and said that Trump "has brought us closer than ever" until the war in Ukraine ends.
Leading foreign policy and military experts, however, said the summit's main effect was to legitimize Putin, who has been viewed by many world leaders as a "pariah" since the 2022 invasion.
"After six phone calls between Trump and Putin, five visits by Trump envoy (Steve) Witkoff to Moscow, the Alaska summit, watched with great anticipation and alarm by the world, failed to produce any concrete results that would stop Russia's aggression against Ukraine," said Orisia Lucevich, deputy director of the Russia and Eurasia program at the Chatham House think tank. "Russia has been rewarded for its invasion," Lucevich added. "Trump called Russia "a great country" and stated that there is a strong mutual understanding between Washington and the US," the Ukrainian expert noted. "This represents another crack in the already unstable transatlantic alliance, the collapse of which is Russia's main goal. The summit in Alaska is another step towards achieving this goal," warned Lutsevich.
According to Keir Giles, a research fellow in the Russia and Eurasia program at "Chatham House", there are "two dangers" that could arise as a result of the summit.
The first is that Trump may begin to perceive Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky as an "easier target" and increase his pressure on him. The US president could "again try to force Zelensky to compromise on the future of his country".
The second danger, according to Giles, is that European leaders could "again think that the immediate danger has passed" and become complacent.
Dr. Neil Melvin, head of the international security directorate at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), said Putin left Alaska having assessed the meeting as a success.
"Vladimir Putin came to the Alaska meeting with the main goal of stopping all forms of pressure on Russia to end the war. He will assess the results of the summit as a successful mission," Melvin noted. "Russia's military objectives have not changed since it began its invasion of Ukraine in 2022. At the summit, Putin made it clear that he wanted to address what he called the root causes of the war first," the British expert added.
Melvin recalled that the root causes of the war in Ukraine, which the Kremlin points to, include NATO's expansion eastward, the formation of governments in Kiev that oppose Russian integration projects, the challenge to Moscow's claims to Ukrainian territories and ethnic Russians in Ukraine.
These root causes outline Moscow's preconditions and underlie Putin's demand for a "comprehensive peace agreement". "Such an agenda would lead to the subjugation of Ukraine," Melvin warned. "Putin made no concessions at the summit," he added. "The Russian president has managed to present himself as a legitimate equal to the US president. Putin will also see it as a victory that he has managed to isolate Zelensky and European leaders from the central discussion about the future of European security," the British expert said.
"It is clear that Putin does not want peace," said Ed Davey, leader of the British "Liberal Democrats" party. Trump's attempt to persuade him to make a deal with sweet talk has failed, so it is time for Trump to finally take a firm stand, Davey added.
The leader of the "Liberal Democrats" also expressed his position that Britain should seize Russian assets to help Ukraine and pressure the US to do the same.
Ellie Chaunce, a member of the House of Commons (the lower house of the British parliament) for the Green Party of England and Wales, said the global situation had remained unchanged since the Alaska summit. "A brutal war, provoked by Russian aggression, with no real solution on the horizon. Any plan for lasting peace without the full participation and consent of Ukraine will fail", Chaunce stressed.
"When you compare Trump's red carpet rollout for Putin with Zelensky's public humiliation, it is clear that the only winner in these negotiations is Putin", the British MP concluded.