The Kremlin is using the meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin on August 15 in Anchorage to position Russia as an equal global power and Putin as Trump’s equal.
Source: Gazeta.UA
On August 13, leading Russian negotiator Kirill Dmitriev compared the summit to the 1945 Yalta Conference, stating that it similarly “prevents a Third World War.” Deputy Chairman of the Duma Committee Alexey Chepa added that the U.S. and Russia should “talk to each other as friends.” The head of the occupying authorities in Crimea, Sergey Aksyonov, called on Trump to visit Crimea for a “new Yalta peace.”
Analysts at the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) view these comparisons as an attempt to conceal the power imbalance and create the perception of Russia’s diplomatic and military advantage. ISW emphasizes that unlike Yalta in 1945, the Alaska summit will not lead to any agreements ending the war in Ukraine.
According to media reports, Putin may propose partial recognition of the occupied territories, exchanging control over Donetsk and Luhansk regions for a withdrawal from Kherson and Zaporizhzhia. At the same time, the legal status of these territories may remain undefined, recognizing only Russia’s actual control.