The upcoming meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska has drawn global attention as a potentially pivotal moment in international diplomacy. Set against the backdrop of the ongoing Russian-Ukrainian war and escalating global tensions, the talks are expected to address both regional conflicts and broader geopolitical challenges.
While hopes remain for concrete steps toward de-escalation-such as a possible aerial ceasefire over Ukraine-the summit also reflects Trump’s strategic ambition to weaken the Moscow-Beijing partnership, a relationship Washington views as a significant threat to U.S. interests.
Regardless of the outcomes, the very fact that the leaders of two of the world’s most powerful nations are coming together signals the possibility of a new phase in efforts to resolve one of the most enduring conflicts of the 21st century.
The Caspian Post discussed the theme with Svitlana Kushnir, Ukrainian political and economic commentator, journalist, and member of the National Union of Journalists of Ukraine.
Ms Kushnir noted Ukraine is awaiting the meeting between the leaders of the U.S. and Russia with particular concern: “Statements and some possible projects and scenarios for ending the war are being declared in arithmetic progression-barely enough time to read and reflect. But if everything is reduced to a single bottom line, Ukraine will regard it as a significant outcome of the discussion if the hot phase along the entire line of combat (which is more than 1,200 kilometers long!) stops. We understand that, most likely, this will be a freezing of the conflict, and here it is important that one of the demands of the Russian Federation’s leadership-reducing the size of the Ukrainian army-be removed from the joint communiqué of Trump and Putin. In reality, Ukraine has won the most important thing in this war-we have preserved ourselves as a state. Ukraine has not disappeared from the maps; Ukraine manages (with the tremendous efforts of the Ukrainian people) to resist the Russian armed forces, which are many times larger in numbers than Ukraine’s. The foundation of this is a strong, combat-ready, and well-trained army-the Defense Forces of Ukraine.”
Photo: The New Yorker
She added that there is no question of any capitulation or surrender of Ukraine’s sovereign territories.
“For Ukraine, another very good outcome of the Trump-Putin meeting in Alaska would be an announcement of an aerial ceasefire. This is important because since February 24, 2022, the entire territory of the Ukrainian state-schools, kindergartens, universities, clinics, hospitals, maternity wards, administrative and social buildings, apartment complexes-has become targets and military objectives for the Russian Armed Forces. Reports of dozens killed under rubble from Russian missile or drone strikes are known to the entire world. If this daily terror stops, and Donald Trump agrees with this, it will be a major achievement of the meeting and the negotiations between the heads of the world’s largest states,” said Ms Kushnir.
Photo: Brightspotcdn
Ukrainian political commentator believes that the Trump-Putin meeting aims mainly to break Russia’s alliance with China, signaling possible progress toward ending the war despite likely challenges.
“However, we also have no illusions that this meeting-an exceptional geopolitical event-will be entirely and exclusively focused on resolving the Russian-Ukrainian war. We understand this clearly. Trump is in a hurry, and Trump craves a peace deal so that the main task of his second term will come true: to tear Putin and Russia-that is, the official Kremlin-away from partnership and alliance with China. This symbiosis between the PRC and the Russian Federation is, for Republican Trump, the key factor of geopolitical threat to the United States. For European countries, it seems almost unthinkable that a decision on an armed conflict that has been ongoing on the European continent for more than 10 years will be made without a representative of the European Union. In any case, the very fact of such a meeting between Trump and Putin is already a sign of the conflict’s imminent resolution. Although, unfortunately, there will still be many problems along this path to peace,” he concluded.
