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The nightmare of a Trump-Putin pact isn’t over
A new Oval Office showdown with Zelensky looms after Alaska meeting.
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US President Donald Trump (right) has long pointed out that Ukraine is in a weak position and argued it must make a deal with Russia.
PHOTO: DOUG MILLS/NYTIMES
The Economist
Before his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska, US President Donald Trump reportedly called Norway’s finance minister to float the idea that he should win a Nobel prize once he had secured peace in Ukraine.
Instead, the summit has handed Mr Putin what he wanted: a red carpet and a chance to boast that Russia’s isolation is over even as he ramps up pressure on the battlefield. In return, Mr Putin provided nothing: no ceasefire, no road map, not even a token concession. They spoke for three hours. Little detail has emerged of what, if anything, they have agreed.
