The Anchorage summit between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin, which opened with so much expectation, pomp and ceremony, ended in uncertainty.
Was their dialogue a failure that will bring the world more war? Or was it the first stone laid on a fragile path toward peace?
After several hours of private conversation between the American president and the Russian leader, the answer remains opaque.
Neither man, nor their top advisers, chose to disclose any substance of what was discussed in Alaska.
That silence has left a vacuum and, as vacuums in geopolitics tend to do, it filled instantly with speculation — much of it leaning toward fizzle.
Commentators in Washington, Brussels, and Kyiv rushed to declare the summit inconclusive at best, dangerous at worst.
And yet, something more subtle may have bubbled beneath the surface.
Trump, in his post-meeting interview with Fox News host Sean Hannity, suggested that there had been forward motion – even if the road ahead remains clouded.
The Anchorage summit between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin, which opened with so much expectation, pomp and ceremony, ended in uncertainty
‘We didn’t get there, but we have a very good chance of getting there,’ Trump said before departing for DC. The president called the session ‘extremely productive’ and insisted that ‘many points were agreed to.’
What those points are remains a secret. But given Trump’s nature – proud, combative, chatty, dynamic – one can interpret his words with optimism as well as agita.
The president did announce one tangible piece of news on social media early Saturday: Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky will come to Washington for a Monday meeting with him.
That is a development worth watching.
If it leads to a triangular dialogue – Trump, Putin and Zelensky – it could begin to reshape the grim geometry of a war that has dragged on far too long.
While Trump initially told Hannity that plans for a direct three-way negotiation were not raised in Alaska, he later suggested that the possibility was indeed on the table.
Putin, meanwhile, floated the intriguing suggestion that the next round of discussions might take place in Moscow.
To be sure, the staging of the summit itself was significant.
Putin arrived to the pageantry and signs of respect he relishes, all provided by his American counterpart: a rolled-out red carpet, a flyover, a shared motorcade ride in the presidential limo and warm words in front of global cameras.
Trump even publicly referred to his Russian colleague as ‘Vladimir’ — a blink-and-you-miss-it gesture of comradery and esteem that did not go unnoticed.
Furthermore, after the private meeting between the leaders, Putin broke the norms of the occasion by speaking first – and for more than twice as long as Trump (eight minutes to the American president’s three.)
Trump’s brief remarks were restrained and subdued. No questions were taken and there was no background briefing for the White House press corps.
Such a symbolic elevation of Putin, along with Trump’s uncharacteristic reticence and reference to Russia as the world’s number two country, went down hard in parts of Europe and the U.S.
For those across the world who view Putin uncompromisingly as a murderous, marauding dictator, Trump’s plaudits seemed almost a rehabilitation of the Russian strongman – an invite, at least for a day, back into the community of nations and polite company from which Putin was expelled after starting the war against his neighbor.
The Russian state media, naturally, lapped it all up.
Trump has announced he will hold talks at the White House with Zelensky (pictured together in the Oval Offie in February) on Monday
Yet if superficial flattery of Putin is part of a potential peace package, an end to this brutal, miserable and poisonous conflict, is the cost as high as outraged pundits suggested Friday night?
Because, what has made the Alaskan summit particularly curious, is the now clear ambition to skip over talk of a ceasefire and go directly to a comprehensive settlement – another bit of news Trump shared in his Saturday morning Truth Social posting.
Cutting to the chase is certainly Trumpian in style – single-minded, impatient and unconventional.
Some critics are interpreting the president’s post as a hint that Trump is siding with, or caving to, Putin’s desire to walk away with amplified territorial gains.
Other observers are nursing hope that an accelerated timeline might bypass an unstable, temporary truce between Ukraine and Russia and increase the chance of a permanent peace.
There are reasons for skepticism and concern among those who worry the American president will sell out Ukraine.
Trump offered no new sanctions, no public threats, no clear evidence of leverage.
For a president famous for belligerence, bluster, and oversharing, this restraint was striking.
Trump’s comments to Hannity were vague. When asked if Russia might gain more territory or Ukraine might receive stronger security guarantees, Trump said, ‘Those are points that we negotiated, and those are points that we largely have agreed on.’
But what does ‘largely agreed on’ mean, when armies remain on the battlefield, drones hum in the air and civilians are dying every day?
One could dismiss it all as just another Trump show – long on theatrics and short on substance.
But there is another way to read the Anchorage encounter.
Whatever else one thinks of Trump, he is the first leader to sit down with Putin and come away with even the possibility of a continuing dialogue about peace.
Zelensky’s visit to the White House is not a formality; it is a hinge moment.
Trump still has sanctions and, perhaps, British peacekeeping ground troops in his back pocket.
During the summit, Trump’s performance was striking, even incongruous.
He gave Putin respect but put an emphasis on efficacy. He cut short his own remarks, but signaled seriousness by placing Zelensky next on his agenda. He revealed almost nothing, but in his atypical discretion, hinted at a path forward.
There is no guarantee of success. Ending wars never comes easily, and in this case, the obstacles are immense.
Ukraine has lost thousands of lives and much of its territory; Russia has suffered sanctions, isolation, and massive reputational harm.
Neither side is eager to concede. And yet, if Trump can move the discussion from entrenched stalemate to a search for comprehensive peace, he will have taken a step toward fulfilling his campaign promise to end this particular ‘forever war.’
Trump has put himself at the center of the Ukrainian-Russian dialogue.
He has made promises, put his ego on the line, risked his reputation. And Trump truly wants the killing to stop.
At the moment, the true impact of the Anchorage summit remains a mystery.
But in the realm of global politics, mystery, and prudence, can be more useful than audacious declarations.
Mysteries leave space for maneuver, for recalibration, for hope. Trump and Putin left Alaska without a deal, but perhaps with an outline of one.
