Pistorius sharply criticizes Trump’s approach to Putin and peace negotiations

According to Boris Pistorius, Donald Trump sent the wrong signals in his attempts to achieve a ceasefire between Ukraine and Russia.

"Unfortunately, the American president influenced the course of the war and Putin’s self-confidence when he rolled out the red carpet and greeted him like a friend in Alaska, while at the same time completely withdrawing from supporting Ukraine militarily," the German minister said.

The German defense chief also noted that Trump made a tactical mistake in the peace negotiations on Ukraine by ruling out the possibility of Ukraine’s membership in NATO.

"The American president unfortunately and unnecessarily took NATO membership off the table very early. That would have been one issue one could have used to negotiate about other things," Pistorius said.

Separately, he pledged that Germany would continue its military and financial assistance to Ukraine.

"There’s scarcely any meaningful movement on the battlefield. What is much worse, though, is that while Putin pretends to negotiate, a war of terror against Ukrainian civilians is raging. That’s why it’s so important that we don’t ease off in our support for Ukraine. And when you look at the state of Russia’s economy, now is exactly the right time to stay the course," Pistorius added.

Trump–Putin meeting

The meeting between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska took place in August 2025.

At the time, the Kremlin leader received a very warm welcome — he was even greeted with a red carpet.

Most importantly, the meeting did not result in Trump securing the Russian leader's agreement to a ceasefire. There were no substantial outcomes for Ukraine.

For more details about the Alaska meeting, see the RBC-Ukraine report.