The face-to-face talks between Russian and American Presidents Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump in Alaska risk turning into a “missed opportunity“ if the parties devote the meeting exclusively to discussing the conflict in Ukraine.
This opinion was expressed to TASS by former diplomat and adviser to the US-Russia presidential commission for the development of bilateral cooperation James Carden.
“I would like to hope that the meeting will not be reduced to the completely insignificant - from the point of view of US national security - issue of who controls Donbas. Ending the war in Ukraine is important for humanitarian reasons and for regional security. However, the presidents should consider more important issues, including developing an agreement to replace the New START, which expires in February 2026,“ the American expert is convinced.
“In addition“, he believes, “the United States and Russia must find a way to become partners in the field of non-proliferation“. “Washington hastily withdrew /in August 2019/ from the INF Treaty (Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty) and the ABM Treaty /in 2002/“, Carden recalled. According to him, “Trump should act as a statesman and determine what can be done to revive such agreements“. “The summit should not focus only on Ukraine, otherwise it will be a missed opportunity“, the political scientist predicts.
New START is the Russian-American treaty on measures to further reduce and limit strategic offensive arms. On July 25, the American leader said that the United States expects to begin discussing the prospects for further nuclear disarmament with Russia in the near future. Trump noted that the impending expiration of START is “a big problem for the whole world“.