The meeting between US President Donald Trump and Russian leader Vladimir Putin in Anchorage, Alaska, was a significant propaganda success for the Kremlin.

This opinion was expressed in a comment to Ukrinform by Austrian political scientist Martin Malek.

"Despite the arrest warrant for Vladimir Putin issued by the International Criminal Court in The Hague, Donald Trump literally rolled out the red carpet for him in Anchorage. This in itself was a huge propaganda success for the Russian autocrat," Malek noted.

According to the political scientist, the way Putin was received in Alaska"was in stark contrast to the scenes in the White House on February 28, 2025, when Trump provoked a scandal in his communication with Volodymyr Zelensky." He also drew attention to the fact that immediately after the meeting in Anchorage, Trump, in essence, shifted responsibility for the further development of events to the President of Ukraine, stating that"now everything really depends on President Zelensky to do it."

"What exactly Trump meant remains unclear. New US sanctions or stricter control over existing ones against Russia are also not envisaged," Malek added.

The expert noted that immediately after meeting with Putin, Trump spoke about the"terrible war between Russia and Ukraine" - "and not a single word about Russia attacking Ukraine in 2014 and 2022."

According to Malek, the only weak consolation here is that"it could have been worse."

"It is a small consolation that things could have been even worse, in particular if Trump had really 'offered' Putin a part of Ukraine, for example, Donbas (which the US president would undoubtedly not have been able to find on a map). Trump's speech to the media a few days before the meeting with Putin clearly showed that the US president does not even understand that a simple 'transfer' of territories is completely excluded by the Constitution of Ukraine," the political scientist noted.

According to him, Trump"admires" Putin, calling him a"strong guy," and completely ignores how the Kremlin "constantly mocks Trump and his team."

"In Alaska, Trump did not make any demands on Putin, whose army continued to continuously attack Ukraine even during the meeting. Putin, of course, did not make any concessions and, thus, indirectly, but clearly adhered to his ultimate goal: the destruction of Ukraine as a state and the annexation of its territory to Russia. But Trump, who knows nothing about Eastern Europe in general and Ukraine in particular, probably did not even understand this, and if he did realize it, he probably did not care. He has priorities that do not concern Ukraine at all," Malek added.

In his opinion, Trump's main goals now are related to the desire to receive the Nobel Peace Prize and distract the attention of the American public from the"Epstein case", in the documents of which"his name is probably mentioned."

As Ukrinform reported, US President Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin held talks in Anchorage, Alaska on August 15.

After the meeting, Trump stressed that the talks had been extremely productive and had made progress on most of the issues discussed. However, on several important issues, the parties"have not yet fully reached an agreement."

Also after the meeting, Trump said,"Now it really depends on President Zelensky," without specifying what exactly he meant.

Instead, Putin stated that he expects that"Kyiv and European capitals will perceive all this constructively and will not obstruct it."