Alaska Summit with Trump ‘gave Putin what he wanted,’ Zelenskyy says
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy criticized last month’s Alaska summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, saying it handed Moscow a propaganda victory.
“It’s a pity that Ukraine was not there, because I think that President Trump gave… Putin what he wanted,” Zelenskyy told ABC News in an interview published on Sept. 7. The high-level meeting in Anchorage on Aug. 15 marked Putin’s first visit to the U.S. since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine and a break from his international isolation, News.Az reports, citing foreign media.
Zelenskyy noted that while Trump later hosted him and European leaders in Washington, Putin has continued to avoid direct talks with him. “He can come to Kyiv. I can’t go to Moscow when my country’s under missiles, under attack each day,” Zelenskyy said.
The Kremlin has rejected Kyiv’s earlier proposals for neutral-ground talks, instead suggesting Moscow as a venue—an offer dismissed by Zelenskyy.
Despite ongoing Western efforts to broker peace, Russia has refused a ceasefire and maintained demands for a NATO ban on Ukraine and control of all Donetsk Oblast. At the same time, Moscow has escalated aerial assaults, launching a record 810 drones and 13 missiles on Sept. 7.
Zelenskyy told ABC that Putin’s ultimate goal remains the occupation of Ukraine. “Until he can do it, the victory is on our side,” he said.
Trump, responding to the latest Russian strikes, warned he was ready to move into a “second phase” of sanctions and tariffs, though his administration has yet to impose new penalties against Moscow since taking office. Last month, Washington targeted India with secondary tariffs over its imports of Russian oil, but Indian officials said purchases would continue.
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