Trump–Putin Summit:

Concessions to Russia:

South Caucasus Ramifications:

The summit between President Donald Trump and President Vladimir Putin, scheduled for 15 August 2025 in Anchorage, Alaska, is extraordinary in both form and timing. It marks the first in-person meeting on US soil since the 1988 Governors Island Summit. Alaska, a former Russian territory acquired by the United States in 1867, carries enduring historical and symbolic weight in US–Russian relations.

Officially billed as a "listening exercise", the summit nonetheless brims with geopolitical hazard. Ukraine, entirely excluded, has been rendered an observer of its own fate, even as its very territory is on the table. This imbalance mirrors Trump’s history of favouring theatrical peace over substantive gain, exemplified most famously in Helsinki 2018.

Risks of territorial concessions for Ukraine

A major concern is Trump’s public suggestion of "some swapping of territories" between Russia and Ukraine. Analysts warn that pressuring Ukraine into such swaps, especially without its direct involvement or consent, risks legitimising aggression, eroding sovereignty, and emboldening further Russian expansion. The Atlantic Council warns that such a concession may pause hostilities, but definitively prevent a durable peace.

Indeed, Russia appears to be exploiting this diplomatic opportunity. Putin is seeking to cement his territorial gains, keep Ukraine out of NATO, and prevent Western troops from redeploying near its borders—effectively redrawing the strategic map with American acquiescence. His forces continue to press offensives at Dobropillia and other fronts, signalling that any ceasefire without Ukrainian participation may merely enable further advances.

Although Trump’s team has attempted damage control, casting the summit as exploratory rather than definitive, and insisting no unilateral deal will be made, the optics are perilous. Ukraine’s President........

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