‘Maybe it will end’: Russians welcome Putin-Trump summit

MOSCOW – Russian pensioner Lyudmila said she was glued to the coverage of Mr Vladimir Putin’s trip to Alaska on Aug 15 for talks with Mr Donald Trump on Ukraine.

The visit – unthinkable just a few weeks ago –

brought the longtime Russian leader out

of more than three years of Western isolation for his Ukraine offensive.

For Lyudmila, 73, like for many Russians, it was impressive, and she hoped that a deal to end the fighting was nigh.

She placed her faith in Mr Trump.

“I am sure, absolutely sure, they will reach an agreement because Trump… is not stupid,” Lyudmila said.

“He understands our country has greatness and status,” she said, beaming.

The US leader gave a red carpet welcome to Mr Putin, who appeared to make no concessions to his maximalist demands on Ukraine.

Mr Putin looked confident in Alaska and, in a rare switch to English, even invited Mr Trump to Russia, saying: “Next time, in Moscow.”

Lyudmila and other Muscovites said they hoped it would happen.

“We are waiting for it. We invite you!” she said.

‘Everyone wants it’

Russian television had round-the-clock coverage of Mr Putin’s trip, which many Russians saw as a major diplomatic victory.

But while Russians can now picture Mr Putin negotiating with Mr Trump, they struggle to see him at a table with European leaders.

For Alexander, a teacher at an aviation institute, Moscow could find common ground with Mr Trump, but not with EU leaders.

Ukraine and its European allies, who were not invited to the Alaska summit, fear that Moscow and Washington will strike a deal without them.

The Kremlin has long painted Kyiv’s allies in Europe as an obstacle to peace and does not have open communication channels with many of those countries.

“They will not change their position,” 39-year-old Alexander said, welcoming the dialogue with Mr Trump but warning “it will be a little harder with the Europeans”.

Vadim, a 35-year-old agriculture specialist, accused European leaders of being “hysterical” about the summit.

He had high hopes for a reset in US-Russian relations.

“I really want to believe in this,” he said, adding that “everyone wants it”.

Russia has been living under massive Western sanctions for its Ukraine offensive.

‘Maybe, just maybe’

After more than three years of conflict, with both sides suffering huge military losses, many Muscovites saw an opening to end the fighting, hoping it will be in Russia’s favour.

“There is hope that something will go in the better direction, in favour of Russia, of the nation and the people who are fighting, and maybe it will all end,” museum worker Vitaly Romanov said.

“Maybe, just maybe… But it’s not for sure,” he added.

But for others, the Trump-Putin summit only brought another unpredictable turn in the dragging conflict.

“It’s very hard to say how this will end,” Yelena, a 36-year-old accountant, said. AFP