Washington: The unfinished peace talk in Anchorage between US President Donald Trump and his counterpart Vladimir Putin ended in cementing bilateral US-Russia relationship as well. Following the summit, Trump stated warring parties were “pretty close to the end”. He noted “Ukraine has to agree” to any peace deal. Putin said that any sustainable resolution on Ukraine has to address the “root causes” of the crisis while taking into account Russia’s legitimate concerns. “A fair balance of security in Europe and globally must be secured,” Putin stated. “There should be no attempt to undermine progress through provocations and behind the scenes intrigue,” Putin stressed.
The August 15 Anchorage Summit between Putin and Trump was their first meeting in the latter’s second term as President. Earlier, Putin and Trump had met six times during Trump’s first term. Real diplomacy at the highest level was noticeable and, although no deal was struck, the communication between both leaders signalled an openness to carry forward the negotiations. Both agreed that they were heading in the right direction.
Putin’s proposal excluded a ceasefire unless a comprehensive deal is reached. Moscow has proposed that Kyiv should “fully withdraw from eastern Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts” in exchange for a Russian promise to freeze the frontlines in the southern oblasts of Zaporizhzhia and Kherson. Additionally, Russia “would be prepared to return comparatively small tracts of land” in northern Sumy and northeastern Kharkiv oblasts. It may also demand that the Russian language be given official status in certain oblasts and the Russian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate) operates independently in the country. Ukrainian legislation prohibits all work of Russia-linked religious organisations.
The comments of Putin and Trump after the Anchorage Summit are backed up and substantiated by a modus operandi that differs from the working methods of the European leaders. During the Anchorage Summit, both Putin and Trump strongly revealed their personal chemistry which proved decisive in the complex and difficult negotiations. The tone at the joint press conference was marked by politeness, courtesy and mutual respect.
The real test of the Anchorage Summit was how the Trump administration engaged and involved Europe which was looking for a ceasefire deal. The crisis was evident with the European leaders, including Zelensky, meeting Trump on Monday in Washington. Europe presented a united front against Russia. Zelensky’s second visit to the White House after February 28 this year was a more challenging and demanding test for him. Immediately after the meeting, Trump had a telephonic conversation with Putin to brief him about the developments.
Russia has a longstanding objection to Ukraine’s potential NATO membership. Ukraine is seeking guarantees for its own security and wants NATO membership. However, Trump has stated clearly “no going into NATO by Ukraine” as part of the peace deal. According to Steve Witkoff, at the Anchorage Summit, Putin agreed to allow Ukraine’s allies to offer it a NATO-like Security Guarantee as part of an eventual deal to end the war. Article 5 of NATO-like protection is being thought upon for Ukraine. The US and the EU will support such guarantees for Ukraine. Last year, Putin had mentioned this and it was accepted in the draft 2022 peace treaty NATO-like Security Guarantees for Ukraine in exchange for neutrality, demilitarization and denazification.
The US and Europe’s offer of NATO Article-5 like Security Guarantees to Ukraine instead of NATO membership will be a game-changer as it represents a huge concession from Russia for the peace deal. Moreover, Russia would enact a law of not attacking any other European country and violating its sovereignty.
The British Prime Minister, Keir Starmer is, however, at odds with President Trump over Ukraine’s NATO ambitions saying that Kyiv is on an “irreversible path” to NATO membership. European leaders strongly believe that Zelensky was being railroaded into a peace deal negotiated by Trump and giving leeway to Russia. Trump’s comments that the US may get involved in Security Guarantees for Ukraine was able to assuage the European leaders with their flattery of Trump.
It is understood that Kyiv has shared proposals for new security arrangements with the US, wherein it promised to Washington that it will purchase USD $100 billion of arms and weapons including 10 US Patriot Air Defence Systems (ADS) along with other missiles and defence equipment to protect its cities and critical infrastructure. Europe will foot the bill. Kyiv and Washington would also strike a USD $50 billion deal to produce drones with Ukrainian companies. Separately, Kyiv insists for full compensation from Russia for wartime damages to be paid for from the USD $300 billion Russian sovereign assets frozen in Western countries. Earlier this year, in Riyadh, Russia had hinted that it may use the frozen sovereign assets to rebuild Ukraine, particularly the one-fifth of the country’s territory which Russian forces control.
Meanwhile, Trump took to social media, mentioning about the Security Guarantees to be provided to Ukraine by various European countries with the US coordinating it. Trump underscored that a trilateral meeting between Russia, the US and Ukraine would be held in the next two weeks to disentangle the Ukraine knot. The place for the meeting would be determined between Putin and Zelensky.
In the next few days, the peace deal will be finalised with no costs of error or misunderstanding. The visit of eight European leaders to the Oval Office, including Zelensky, confirmed and conveyed that the trans-Atlantic rift runs deep. In addition, the Putin-Trump Summit in Anchorage promises well for the bilateral relations as well as to end the Russia-Ukraine war. Quite understandably, the Putin-Trump alliance could also weaken Europe which seems to be standing alone against Russia for now.
(IANS)
