28 minutes:
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I like Larry Johnson’s comparison of this meeting to an arranged marriage!
What I find absolutely disgusting, including on the part of the Russians, is that two of the three most powerful nations on earth are meeting and the discussion (according to all the media at least), is going to be on one issue alone, excluding what should be number 2 on the very short agenda, the ongoing genocide.
Any realistic observer knows the Russians want a security architecture that protects Russia, while the EU and the US want anything that stops their financial collapse. They also should realise that Donald Trump has actually no grasp of this and no interest unless it includes some sort of Donald money making deal.
My opinion for what it’s worth is the outcome of this meeting is as the video said. It’s what DT says it is, Russia will continue to overrun Ukraine, and the EU will continue to commit suicide (against the will of most of their populations) by pouring money and weapons they don’t have into supporting the nazis.
Meanwhile back at the office, the genocide will continue unabated, Lamy, Starmer, and Macron will continue to issue palliative sound bites to cover their complicity in the worst war crime which “might be a ‘plausible’ genocide”. Ho hum. Let’s turn on the TV to see what the weather is going to be!
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Interesting take on Putin/Trump summit from Richard Wolff & Michael Hudson…
Richard D. Wolff & Micheal Hudson: Trump Declares WAR on Russia in Alaska
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Is it wise for Putin to meet Trump on US soil while there’s a warrant out for his arrest? Especially as there have already been numerous attempts on his life. When Oliver Stone interviewed Putin eight years ago he said there had been six known failed attempts to kill him. How many are unknown? How many more have there been since 2017? His favorite chauffeur was killed in a head on car crash in Moscow. Video: Vladimir Putin's 'favourite' driver dies in freak Moscow car crash | The Independent | The Independent After all both JFK & RFK were both murdered in front of many witnesses in broad daylight. How easy would it be for the CIA to have set up another “lone gunman patsy” in Alaska? Just saying.
EDIT: …Alaska’s low population density makes it easier for security services to minimize the risk of terrorist attacks or staged provocations, while sidestepping the legal complications posed by the International Criminal Court’s arrest warrant. In 2002, the United States withdrew its signature from the Rome Statute and it does not recognize the ICC’s jurisdiction on its soil. RT.
PCR: Can Putin Pass the Test?
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With regards to the risky decision. The Russian PM left a meeting elsewhere in the world and hastily returned to Moscow. Russian constitution says PM become temporary president if something should happen. So in typical Russian fashion, it’s by the book.
I doubt anything at all will happen. It’s the end of the world, guaranteed. Besides, I don’t know the distance between the east coast of Russia and Anchorage. But I do know that Oroshnik can cover that distance rather rapidly.
I’m sure someone has the tissues out tonight for a cheeky fantasy. Lindsey Graham?
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Fascinating geopolitical analysis here from Alex Krainer especially on where he thinks Trump is really at.
Alexander Mercouris’s mercifully short (for him) and clear summary on the summit in Alaska:
Putin Forcefully Restates Moscow’s Ukraine Terms; Alaska Summit Ends; No Ceasefire; Neocons EU Rage
PCR’s mainly upbeat take:
The Putin-Trump Meeting
The Putin-Trump Meeting
Paul Craig Roberts
What do we make of it?
A good result came of it. Trump moved away from his demand for a ceasefire and said that it was more important to work toward a permanent peace than a ceasefire which is seldom kept. This would seem to commit Trump to addressing the root cause of the conflict, which is Russia’s insecurity with NATO all over her borders.
Putin said that the meeting marked the transition from confrontation and threats to dialogue. This prospect alone made the meeting worthwhile.
These are good results. In a world of nuclear weapons the level of tension had become untenable.
For hopes to be realized two barriers must be recognized and overcome. One is the neoconservative doctrine of American hegemony. The other is the interest of the US military/security complex.
The doctrine of hegemony requires overcoming Russia in order to achieve Washington’s unilateralism. Is this doctrine too institutionalized to be repudiated?
The budget, influence over Congress, and power of the military/security complex requires a major enemy. Russia fills that role. Peace on equal terms with Russia takes away the enemy, and the budget and influence of the military/security complex declines. There are military bases or weapon manufacturers in almost every state, which means this interest is also institutionalized as President Eisenhower warned us it would be.
Therefore, the question before us is: how likely is it that Trump can get NATO and missile bases off of Russia’s border? It is not at all likely if attention cannot be directed to the basic problem.
How helpful will media be? It is the wrong focus to emphasize that Putin wanted the meeting in order to show that he was not isolated and could meet with the American president like Zelensky and Netanyahu do.
The meeting was fortuitous. Trump had trapped himself. His threatened secondary sanctions or tariffs against India and other BRICS members backfired. Faced with his own 10-day deadline, he had to find a way out. He found it in an immediate meeting with Putin. For Trump the meeting was a way of getting himself off of the spot.
The opportunity to wind down a confrontation that would likely end in nuclear war is based on luck. Can this lucky outcome be turned into a mutual security agreement? That depends on the strength of the neoconservatives’ doctrine of hegemony and the willingness of the military/security complex to accept declining sales and profits. Until it is realized that these two interests are the barriers to peace that must be overcome, there will be no peace process.