Although the meeting between Donald Trump and his Vladimir Putin In Alaska, he was supposed to bring peace to Ukraine closer, in fact he turned into a scene of embarrassment, the Financial Times emphasizes in their article.
At Akorage’s US Air Base in Alaska, Donald Trump offered Vladimir Putin prices for a formal guest but in return only received a few cheap flatteries. The Russian leader rejected the idea of a trucethe main objective of the meeting and maintained its maximalist demands that are equivalent to the tradition of Kiev.
A position that is weakened
The US president had threatened Moscow with “serious consequences” in the event of a denial, but eventually avoided any warning. Even a hypothetical trilateral meeting with Volodimir Zelenski was not discussed, according to the Kremlin. The ease with which Putin has imposed his tough positions makes Trump seem naive, the Financial Times commented.
Although there was a relief that Trump did not sell Ukraine on the spot, the revelations that followed are alarming. The president adopted Putin’s desire for overall negotiations instead of the temporary truce requested by Washington. Now, with Russia in an advantageous position on the battlefield, it has every reason to delay talks and harden its territorial claims.
The trap of soils
The Financial Times considers “shocking” that Trump did not reject the Russian demand for the abandonment of key areas in Donbas, a red line for Zelenski and his European supporters. The resignation of these strategic territories, defended by the Ukrainians for eleven years at a heavy price in lives, would be politically unthinkable and military suicidal, authors warn.
If Trump is in line with Putin, two explanations are displayed: either he always saw the annexation from Russia, or is simply influenced by his last interlocutor. In the latter case, Europeans and Ukrainians still have a chance to persuade him.
President Donald J. Trump and President Vladimir Putin in Anchorage, Alaska. pic.twitter.com/WwYL3DsXLa
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) August 15, 2025
Europe is called upon to act
As Zelenski is going to meet Trump today in White House Together with European leaders who accompany the Ukrainian president in Washington, the article proposes a tougher attitude. For Kiev, this means it is clear what concessions it can do: freezing the front line and the acceptance of a de facto but not de Jure occupation from Moscow, in exchange for security guarantees outside NATO.
For Europe, this means reinforcing its opposition to the Trump line, increasing military and financial aid to Ukraine and utilizing frozen Russian state assets. Because if the proposed agreement is equivalent to tradition, then the alleged security guarantee will prove to be illusion.