In Alaska, Putin got his way

From the Telegraph / Yahoo!News:

"Putin got exactly what he wanted from Trump

Dominic Nicholls, August 16, 2025 

 

 The press conference was called after about three hours of talks... Putin spoke first and went out of his way to list as many examples of common ground he shared with Mr Trump as he could. In a speech that could have been written a year ago, we were treated to a canter through shared Soviet and American experiences in the Second World War... Mr Trump, whether he liked it or not, was reminded of the “common enemy” Russia and America had fought together, of their “common heritage”... 

This was a “long overdue meeting” Putin enthused, thoroughly in his stride. There were opportunities for bilateral trade, space and arctic exploration, loads of stuff, if only we could get past the pesky issue of Ukraine, he seemed to be saying. “It is important for our countries to turn the page,” he said.

Of course he did, he’s desperate for the page titled ‘war’ to be turned. He took a swipe at Joe Biden (‘I tried to reach out, I was rebuffed’) and said there would be no problem in Ukraine if Mr Trump had been in charge in 2022. It was all as obvious as it was depressing.

In his (very short) response, Mr Trump called Putin “the boss” at one point, which sent a ripple through the audience. This was not what those wanting Putin to be held to account for his war wanted to hear...

To finish, Putin, speaking in English, invited his “neighbour” Donald to another meeting in Moscow. He was speaking over the heads of Ukrainian and European leaders; they were irrelevant to him, he wanted to make it clear they were to Trump as well.

And then it was over. The two men exited stage right... 

The White House had laid on the full dog and pony show – on the ground, a red carpet for Putin’s first steps in ten years on US soil followed by a ride with Mr Trump in The Beast. In the air, a five-ship formation flypast of a B-2 bomber flanked on either side by a pair of F-22 Raptor fighters. Coming just hours after Russian forces in Ukraine had bombed a market in the northern city of Sumy, the images will be hard to stomach for many people around the world...

The sight of American soldiers kneeling before Putin’s plane to secure the red carpet to the Tarmac is an image that will appall many.

Critics of Mr Trump, Putin or both will see it as a craven act by a weak president courting favour with a man considered a war criminal... As the circus drew to a close, Putin had succeeded in getting his handshake with the US president. He would feel he had shown the world Russia was back where it belongs - at the top table of global politics. He would be glad his actions had drawn no consequences.

If European leaders don’t act to support Ukraine after this, they will have to answer to history."