German Radio: Trump Gained Nothing
Regarding the Trump-Putin meeting on Friday, most German media believe that Trump has brought Putin back to the international stage, and Putin is the winner of the Trump-Putin meeting.
However, according to Bavarian Radio, German Chancellor Merkel said that the Alaska Summit brought "positive signals." The U.S. has sent a signal that it is willing to provide security guarantees: Merkel called this a "surprise" after the Trump-Putin meeting.
The good news is that Trump has not made any concessions to Putin on the territorial issue yet. Merkel stated on Saturday: "The U.S. voluntarily provides security guarantees - of course, including for us Europeans. This was not expressed in the press conference." But it was clearly expressed during the phone call with President Trump on Saturday morning.
He believes that the U.S. continuing to participate, and even continuing to participate for some time afterward, is "very good."
Meanwhile, Merkel stated that Putin's continued bombing of Kyiv during the Alaska meeting was "a great disrespect."
German radio believes: Trump overly flattered Putin at the Alaska Ukraine summit, bringing him back to the global political stage. Yet Trump gained nothing. The images from the summit are enough to anger any upright person.
The summit with Putin in Alaska sometimes seemed a bit strange, but far from as successful as Trump had previously boasted. Trump openly laid out a red carpet for this war monger from the Kremlin. He welcomed Putin with applause and warm gestures - as if old classmates meeting again after many years.
Finally, he got into the presidential car with Putin. Trump's hospitality toward Putin was unimaginable. In return, however, Trump received almost no substantive response. He certainly couldn't announce an end to the war in Ukraine three hours later. The two reduced their joint press conference to reading statements and left without allowing any questions, which speaks volumes.
Trump let himself be handled by Putin in the best manner. Putin flattered Trump, but did not yield an inch. The images left from the Alaska meeting must surely anger any upright person, especially the Ukrainian people.
Trump did not hold Putin accountable, but instead brought this outcast back to the global political stage - and without making him give up anything. Therefore, before serious negotiations to end the war have even begun, Putin's negotiating position has been greatly strengthened.
Zelenskyy is facing increasing pressure. Facts once again show that Trump is unwilling to protect Ukraine's interests. He had the opportunity to significantly increase pressure on Russia long ago. But he didn't do so.
The Berlin Morning Paper believes: At the beginning, expectations for this meeting were not high. However, when the two publicly appeared at the end of this suspiciously brief meeting, it raised concerns: Are even moderate expectations also about to be dashed? Regardless, they failed to achieve specific results on how to get closer to a ceasefire in the Ukraine war.
Trump recently hoped he could announce that a ceasefire agreement had been reached. But this obviously did not happen. Nevertheless, this summit still had a big winner: that was Putin.
The Cologne Review pointed out: There was no progress on the Ukraine issue. Regarding the Trump-Putin meeting, the best we can say is: at least, regarding the Anchorage joint press conference, Trump kept his promise not to reach a "deal" with Putin.
This undoubtedly relieved Europeans, because if Trump and Putin had reached a "deal" on Ukraine or other issues, we could only expect the worst outcomes.
Original: www.toutiao.com/article/1840650116319232/
Statement: This article represents the views of the author.