Alaska summit ends in stalemate as the Ukraine war continues

Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump met in Alaska to discuss the ongoing war in Ukraine, with the Russian President describing the meeting as “frank and informative,” saying that both expressed a shared interest in ending the conflict, as reported by Africa News via AP on the 18th of August.

Upon his return to Moscow, Putin convened leading officials at the Kremlin, asserting that the summit drew the two powers “closer to the necessary decisions” to resolve the conflict by addressing its foundational causes. He reiterated Russia’s preference for peaceful resolution, underlining that U.S. officials likewise acknowledged the need for a swift end to hostilities.

Despite Trump’s hopes for a ceasefire, the summit yielded no firm agreement, leaving any breakthrough tenuous at best. The US president had previously promised a solution to the conflict on his first day in office. However, despite seven months of attempts, the US president has not made any concrete progress on ending the war.

On August 13, speaking at a joint news conference in Berlin with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he had alerted “the US president and our European partners that Putin is bluffing,” regarding the peace talks that have taken place on August 15.

The Ukranian President added, “He is trying to apply pressure before the meeting in Alaska along all parts of the Ukrainian front. Russia is trying to show that it can occupy all of Ukraine.”

The talks have taken place as the conflict lingers on. In its fourth year, the war continues to claim casualties on both sides. On July 29th, Russian strikes killed at least 25 people and injured dozens more, including 16 in a Zaporizhzhia prison as well as a pregnant 23-year-old woman.

US President Donald Trump will meet with Volodymyr Zelensky in Washington on the 18th of August.

Africa News via AP, Maghrebi.org