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Shkruar nga Ivor Bennett
Putin acted as the 'host', Trump appeared in the role of friend...
For Vladimir Putin, nothing could have gone better in Alaska. From the red carpet to the jets flying, the accused war crimes suspect was treated like a king.
The only other countries that have welcomed it in this way in recent years are countries like China and North Korea, Russia's old friends.
The Kremlin leader's most urgent goal in Anchorage was to assuage Trump's frustrations. Just a week earlier, Moscow had been faced with an ultimatum: ceasefire or sanctions.
But neither was mentioned. The word "ceasefire" and the word "sanctions" were not uttered even once.
The leaders appear to have reached a loose framework. But for what? We don't know because the details were not disclosed.
But the fact that Vladimir Putin spoke about the need to eliminate the "root causes" of the conflict will not fill Ukraine with hope.
This phrase essentially means that Russia's red lines are as indelible as ever, on territory, neutrality for Ukraine, and limitations on its armed forces. And Moscow has no intention of blurring them.
By the time the press conference arrived, it was clear who was making the decisions.
Not only did Vladimir Putin speak first, but there were no questions, both certainly unprecedented in the world of Trump's media relations.
Given how choreographed Putin's press conferences usually are, I suspect the lack of questions and answers may have been a condition imposed by his team.
Even more remarkable was Trump's willingness and ability to obey him, a sign of how much he values his relationship with the Kremlin.
"Pursuing peace" was the summit's slogan, but it seemed as if Vladimir Putin was pursuing something else, the start of a new chapter in US-Russia relations, one that Ukraine will fear could come at its expense. /Adapted from "Sky News"
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