Trump gave Putin a triumph in Alaska

From the Foreign Affairs:

"The Wrong Way to Do Diplomacy With Russia 

Celeste A. Wallander, September 9, 2025

U.S. President Donald Trump’s summit last month in Alaska with Russian President Vladimir Putin... strengthened Putin, and in doing so has prolonged both the war in Ukraine and his hold on power... 

Putin... emerged triumphant. Trump rolled out the red carpet for the Russian leader in Anchorage and spoke gushingly of their “fantastic relationship.” Putin made no concessions, and Trump shifted the responsibility for ending the fighting to Ukraine: “Now it is really up to President Zelensky to get it done,” he said in an interview with Fox News. 

Although Putin did not face any strong opposition before Alaska, he now enjoys a glow of success for, by all appearances, having won over the American president. According to a late August survey by the independent Russian polling firm Levada, 79 percent of Russians view the summit as a success for Putin, and 51 percent are more optimistic for an improvement in relations with the United States. After the summit, Russian media did not have to put out false pronouncements to highlight Putin’s diplomatic triumph: it broadcast the real event, along with Western commentary on Putin’s victory. Stronger than ever, Putin can continue his war against Ukraine for as long as it takes to win on his terms... He broke out of the isolation that the West had imposed on him, defiantly landing in the United States despite sanctions and international arrest warrants for war crimes. He delayed and has possibly entirely avoided new crushing sanctions on Russian oil. And he reminded the world that Moscow stands resolute in its demands that Ukraine cede not just territory but its autonomy and sovereignty as well.

In fact, the summit helped Putin legitimize Moscow’s grievances, giving Russians who might doubt the wisdom of the invasion reason believe that it was, as Putin promised, just. Addressing reporters in Anchorage against a backdrop that read “Pursuing Peace,” Putin spoke of Russia’s “legitimate concerns,” of his desire to see a “just balance of security in Europe and in the world,” and of “the need to eliminate all the primary roots, the primary causes” of the fighting in Ukraine. Trump did nothing to push back against this narrative. Indeed, the American president appears to have accepted Putin’s contention that Moscow should have a say over Ukrainian territorial integrity and Western security guarantees. Putin flew home having demonstrated to his subjects that he was right all along, that they must not waver, and that he will win for them.

For Putin, the summit was never about pursuing peace in Ukraine. His aim all along has been to bend the international system to his will and to preserve his monopoly on power at home. Since his first incursions into Ukraine in 2014, Putin has played the long game. He has always believed that time is on his side. The Alaska summit bought him even more time—and gave him a stronger hand for achieving military victory."