Putin's history monologue sparked Trump's fury at Alaska summit - FT

In the presence of several advisers, Putin dismissed the US proposal to lift sanctions in exchange for a ceasefire. He insisted the war could end only if Ukraine capitulated and ceded more territory.

According to FT, the Russian leader delivered a lengthy historical lecture, referencing medieval princes such as Rurik and Yaroslav the Wise, as well as Hetman Bohdan Khmelnytsky. He often cites them in his claims that Ukraine and Russia supposedly form one nation.

Sources told the media that Trump was very surprised by Putin’s lecture, raised his voice several times, and even threatened to walk out. In the end, he shortened the meeting and canceled the planned lunch where the delegations were supposed to discuss economic ties and cooperation.

Financial Times emphasized that the summit led to a shift in the position of US leader Donald Trump in favor of Ukraine.

Shift in the deal-making process

In the spring, Trump’s efforts to broker a deal reached a dead end when the Russians said Putin was not interested in discussing the peace plan developed by the US with the participation of Ukraine and Europe. The meeting scheduled for May was canceled.

But in early August, the deal unexpectedly became possible — after Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff visited Moscow and held three-hour talks with Putin.

The Russian president became more flexible on territorial issues, likely influenced by US sanctions on Russian oil exports to India.

In Alaska, the US president stated that he was ready to recognize Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014 and to make Ukraine concede some positions along the front line if Russia stopped its hostilities.

Putin was misunderstood

However, the supposed agreement was based on false assumptions. Russia's territorial concessions mentioned by Witkoff amounted to freezing the front line in areas it had failed to capture by force, while demanding that Ukraine surrender the entire Donbas.

He misunderstood everything Putin said about what would be discussed at the summit, one of the participants in the talks said.

But a White House representative denied the assumption that Trump’s special envoy had misinterpreted the aggressor state’s position.

The Russian leader stressed that no deal would be possible unless it addressed the “root causes” of the conflict, which, in his view, include regime change in Kyiv, halting NATO expansion, and ending Western arms supplies to Ukraine.

Trump’s proposal was unacceptable to Putin because he wanted Ukraine’s capitulation.

FT writes that US intelligence support and discussions about providing Ukraine with Tomahawk missiles are encouraging signals for Kyiv and the EU. It means that Trump is finally ready to put pressure on Russia, albeit indirectly.

Trump-Putin meeting

Yesterday, October 16, US President Donald Trump held a phone call with Russian president Vladimir Putin. It took place a day before Trump’s planned meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Following the talk, the US president said he would meet with Putin again. This time, the meeting will take place in Budapest, though the exact date remains unknown.

Against this backdrop, Zelenskyy emphasized that Putin wanted dialogue with Trump as soon as he heard about the possible transfer of Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine.