NYT: Could Trump And Putin's Meeting In Alaska Lead To Peace?

Analysts pointed out important points.

On Friday, U.S. President Donald Trump announced that he will meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin a week from today, August 15, in Alaska. According to The New York Times, the very fact that the American president is willing to meet with Putin is considered a diplomatic victory for the Kremlin, but there is little indication that it will have an impact on the war in Ukraine.

What does Putin want from the meeting?

As the NYT notes, Putin may be using the meeting as another way to stall for time, as well as a way to try to mend strained relations with Washington.

"More broadly, the meeting is consistent with Putin's worldview that great powers should determine their own spheres of influence, much as Stalin met with President Franklin D. Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill at Yalta in 1945 to divide postwar Europe," the article said.

Putin is likely to make the same maximalist demands in any meeting with Trump: declare eastern Ukraine Russian; prevent Ukraine from joining NATO; prevent the alliance from expanding into the former Soviet Union; limit the size of the Ukrainian military; and ensure the government's friendly relations with Moscow.

What's at stake for Trump?"

One of Mr. Trump's campaign promises was to end the war in Ukraine within 24 hours. That deadline has long since passed, but he still considers himself a master deal-maker. He has also made no secret of his desire for a Nobel Peace Prize and has linked winning the prize to his efforts in Ukraine and other conflicts.

Although Mr. Trump has threatened Russia with tough direct and indirect sanctions to try to end the war, he has acknowledged that they may not have any effect.

"While previous U.S. presidents may have agreed to meetings as a reward for concessions on a peace deal, there is no indication that Putin has changed his position and rejects any such outcome," the publication noted.

Could the meeting lead to a breakthrough?"

One of the major players in the war, Ukraine, will not be represented at the meeting. Trump has said he will meet with Zelensky shortly afterward, but that absence has already limited the results. Europe, which also has a strong stake in the outcome of the war, will also not be represented.

Despite the enormous loss and destruction the war has brought to Ukraine, polls show that an overwhelming majority of Ukrainians reject the idea of territorial and other concessions demanded by the Kremlin.

"The refusal of both sides to make concessions has long blocked any attempt to reach a negotiated settlement, and there are few signs of optimism now."

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