Russia gains in east before Trump-Putin summit, Ukraine says holding off
- United States President Donald Trump has welcomed his Russian counterpart to the Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska, for a summit to discuss the conflict in Ukraine.
- The meeting is the two leaders’ first face-to-face encounter since 2019 and their first standalone summit since a 2018 meeting in Helsinki.
- Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov says the meeting “will take up a minimum of six to seven hours”, according to Russian state TV.
- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was notably left out of the Alaska talks, but he has pushed for Russia to face new sanctions if the country does not agree to an “immediate ceasefire”.
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16m ago (22:15 GMT)
Economic uncertainty a possible driver for Russian negotiations: AnalystAlexander Bratersky, a foreign policy writer, told Al Jazeera from Moscow that he believes that Russia has the upper hand over Ukraine in the ongoing war.But he sees Putin’s appearance in Alaska with Trump as a sign that the Russian president concedes there is room for some negotiation.“We can see that President Putin is actually, yes, winning in Ukraine. The Russian army is much more strong [sic] than the Ukrainian army,” he said.“But at the same time, Mr Putin and Mr Trump would not be meeting if there were not some concessions that Russia is maybe willing to make.”Bratersky pointed to Russia’s economy as a potential sore point.“The economy is not strong,” he said. “So now, yes, we can sustain this war, people could say.”“But they could say, what’s it going to be in a year? We don’t know. So this actually gives Mr Putin room to manoeuvre and sort of try to get away from this conflict with whatever he has already achieved.”
1m ago (22:30 GMT)Democrats say peace should not come ‘at the expense of Ukraine’s freedom’In the past, President Trump has expressed affinity for his Russian counterpart Putin in the past. On the occasion of his high-profile sit-down with Putin in Alaska, Democrats have sought to highlight those cosy relations in their attacks on his administration.House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries poked fun at the fact that Trump pledged in his re-election campaign to resolve the conflict between Russia and Ukraine on the first day of his second term, something he failed to do.“Donald Trump promised to end the war in Ukraine on day one. Instead. He pardoned hundreds of violent felons who brutally beat police officers while attacking the Capitol,” Jeffries wrote, referencing an incident on January 6, 2021, when Trump’s supporters stormed the legislature.Senator Mark Warner of Virginia, meanwhile, did not mention Trump by name but warned against giving into Russia’s demands.“We should all hope for peace, but not at the expense of Ukraine’s freedom or America’s principles,”
8m ago (22:22 GMT)
Talks have ended, Kremlin saysThe Kremlin is reporting that the closed-door talks between Trump and Putin have ended. We are waiting to see if the two leaders will appear for a news conference after speaking in private for more than two and a half hours.Click here to share on social media
