Anchorage(Alaska), August 16(HS): The much-anticipated Alaska summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin ended without the breakthrough that Washington had hoped for, leaving the future of the Ukraine conflict as uncertain as ever.
Moments after Putin’s aircraft departed Anchorage, Trump retreated to the very room where the bilateral meeting had been held to tape a high-profile interview with Fox News anchor Sean Hannity. The broadcast, scheduled to air within the hour, is expected to provide further insight into Trump’s own interpretation of the talks, which thus far have yielded more optics than substance.
A short time later, the president boarded Air Force One for his return to Washington. He carried with him the weight of an unfulfilled promise: just hours before the summit, Trump had told reporters he would not be “satisfied” unless a ceasefire announcement emerged from his meeting with Putin.
But when he walked off stage in Anchorage, a visibly subdued Trump offered no such declaration. Observers noted his unusually muted tone — a sharp contrast to his typically exuberant style.
For Putin, the meeting marked another chance to legitimize his stance directly before the American president. For Trump, it underscored the political stakes of entering high-profile talks without securing tangible gains. Both sides described the conversation as “constructive,” yet the absence of a ceasefire undercut the summit’s claim to progress.
The White House has signaled openness to a follow-up meeting, with Putin himself hinting — in English — that “next time” could be in Moscow. Trump, aware of the political storm such optics would unleash at home, responded with a wry acknowledgment: “That would get me a lot of heat.”
As both presidents head home, the hopes of Ukrainians desperate for peace remain suspended. For now, the Alaskan encounter will be remembered more for what it symbolized than for what it achieved: diplomacy heavy on atmospherics, light on deliverables.
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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar
