The Kremlin said on Friday that the upcoming meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his US counterpart, Donald Trump, in Alaska will last"at least six or seven hours," according to what Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Russian state television. The program includes a bilateral meeting, expanded negotiations between the two delegations, followed by a joint press conference.
The meeting is being held at Elmendorf-Richardson Air Base in Alaska, a state the United States purchased from Russia in 1867. This gives the summit a symbolic dimension that has sparked widespread controversy in political and media circles. The former US president, now in his second term, considered the choice of Alaska to"reflect a shared history" between the two countries.
Ukraine's absence from the summit sparked deep concern in Kyiv, whose President Volodymyr Zelensky expressed his surprise at not being invited, stating that"any agreement on Ukraine should not be reached without Ukraine," in an interview broadcast by the British channel Sky News on the eve of the summit. The Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs also warned, in an official statement, that"any agreement reached without Ukrainian participation will not be binding or acceptable."
This meeting comes amid a shifting US position. President Trump had previously stated last February, during his visit to the southern border, that"Ukraine's accession to NATO is not on the table, which was the primary reason for igniting the conflict."
American political analyst David Sanger, in a report published in the New York Times this morning, considered the summit"reflects a new direction in the approach to international politics by Washington and Moscow," noting that Trump "is seeking a grand bargain that reshapes the map of Eastern Europe through the principle of land swaps." He added that the US president "expressed a willingness to lift sanctions on Russia if Putin agrees to a ceasefire," a statement confirmed by Trump during a brief press conference held at the same military base.
The same newspaper reported that Putin was bringing a delegation of Russian businessmen, indicating Moscow's intention to open up economic cooperation with Washington, particularly regarding energy and mineral resources in the Ukrainian regions under Russian control. In an interview with Russian television, Russian Trade Minister Sergei Manturov stated that"Moscow sees the summit as an opportunity to propose joint energy and infrastructure projects with American companies."
Putin had hinted at the possibility of negotiating a new nuclear arms control agreement to succeed the New START agreement, which expires in February 2026, according to a statement he made to the Russian state news agency TASS before leaving for Alaska. He said that “any future agreement on Ukraine should be followed by a long-term peace agreement that includes strategic security.”
In contrast, Richard Burns, former US ambassador to NATO, wrote in an article published in Foreign Affairs that the summit represents a “test of NATO unity,” warning that any concessions Trump makes to Putin “could undermine European confidence in the United States and open the door to the gradual dismantling of the alliance.”
A statement by US Vice President J.D. Vance, made to the Wall Street Journal last Sunday, sparked outrage in Ukraine and Europe when he said that"the phase of funding the war in Ukraine is over, and Europe must take responsibility for its own future if it wants continued support," indicating a shift in US foreign policy from open support to a cautious posture.
American historian Daniel Immervar, of Northwestern University, expressed his fears in press statements about the return of an"imperial mentality" to the international scene, noting that"closed bilateral meetings between major powers, outside the framework of international legitimacy, reproduce the logic of hegemony that prevailed in the nineteenth century." He explained that this logic is based on ignoring the will of small states and bypassing international laws, thus establishing a global order based on bilateral understandings between the dominant powers.
Imrvar said that this summit between Trump and Putin, held without the participation of Ukraine or the United States' partners in Europe, represents a clear example of this approach, which contradicts the principles that the international system has sought to establish since the end of World War II, most notably respect for state sovereignty and the non-legitimization of occupations or the imposition of settlements by force.
He added that"Trump and Putin seem comfortable with this return to the traditional rules of the game of influence," noting that talk of "land swaps" and "redrawing borders" without the participation of the country in question reflects the essence of this mentality, which prioritizes the interests of the major powers over international justice, potentially eroding confidence in the global order, particularly in conflict zones.
The American historian continued, saying, “Major conflicts have always provided an opportunity for imperial powers to redraw the maps to suit their interests, but the difference today is that this is happening under the world’s gaze, and with the tacit approval of parties supposedly defending international law.” He added, “What is happening in Alaska is not just a summit, but a true test of the future of the global order and the balance of power within it.”
