‘Feeding a narcissist:’ Ukraine reflects on Trump-Putin summit

Kyiv, Ukraine – The Alaska acme betwixt United States President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, was a masterclass successful however a erstwhile quality serviceman uses his skills of manipulation connected a self-centred narcissist.

That’s the content a Kyiv-based governmental expert who has intimately followed the warfare with Russia got, they told Al Jazeera, aft watching the interaction betwixt Trump and Putin during their acme on Friday, which broke nary crushed successful stopping Europe’s hottest warfare since 1945.

Putin “worked [Trump] well”, said the expert who requested anonymity, referring to the years Putin spent arsenic a Soviet spy successful East Germany recruiting informants.

On the tarmac astatine Elmendorf-Richardson, a Cold War-era airbase extracurricular Alaska’s capital, Anchorage, Putin greeted Trump with a “good morning, beloved neighbour,” referring to Alaska’s proximity to northeastern Russia.

Trump virtually rolled retired a reddish carpet for Putin, gave him a agelong handshake and a thrust successful “The Beast”, the statesmanlike limousine – and Putin beamed from the backseat.

During a little quality conference, Putin kept thanking Trump, repeating and rephrasing what the American president had said astir the talks, Ukraine and a imaginable bid settlement.

Putin flattered Trump, including by backing the US leader’s assertions – specified arsenic his assertion that helium could person prevented the Russian-Ukrainian warfare had helium won the 2020 statesmanlike ballot alternatively of Joe Biden.

“Today, President Trump was saying that had helium been president backmost then, determination would beryllium nary war, and I’m rather definite that it would so beryllium so,” the smiling Putin told reporters aft the talks. “I tin corroborate that.”

And it was Putin’s manipulation masterfully disguised arsenic saccharine flattery that ended the talks with Trump’s decision that “there’s nary woody until there’s a deal,” Kucherenko said.

“He fed the narcissist with immoderate 1 needs to provender a narcissist into manipulating him – endless quotes, the endless ‘how the American president said’, endless appellations to the topics [Trump] is funny in,” said the analyst, who has authored analytical reports connected Russia’s subject and has addressed the US Congress successful a proceeding connected the war.

‘Nothing concrete’

Putin’s remarks astatine the quality league aft the talks lasted for 8 minutes and included a lecture connected erstwhile czarist Russia owned Alaska and however the Soviet and US militaries partnered during World War II.

He spoke much than doubly arsenic agelong arsenic Trump, who talked for lone 3 minutes and admitted that the talks resulted successful an statement to clasp much talks.

“There were many, galore points that we agreed on, astir of them, I would say, a mates of large ones that we haven’t rather gotten there, but we’ve made immoderate headway. So there’s nary woody until there’s a deal,” the US president said.

Trump and Putin besides refused to instrumentality questions.

As a result, the acme ended with “nothing concrete”, Kucherenko said, arsenic Putin said the “root causes” of the warfare should beryllium addressed earlier immoderate ceasefire oregon existent steps towards a bid colony are made.

“In bid to marque the [future peace] colony lasting and agelong term, we request to destruct each the superior roots, the superior causes of that conflict, and we’ve said it aggregate times, to see each morganatic concerns of Russia,” Putin said.

“Root causes” is Putin’s codification for rejecting Ukraine’s beingness extracurricular Moscow’s governmental shadiness and denying its precise sovereignty.

The China angle

However, the talks were not a full triumph for Putin, different Ukrainian perceiver said.

They lasted for little than 3 hours alternatively of the 7 that Russian officials had announced, and determination was nary breadstuff breached implicit a associated lunch.

And what was discussed down closed doors went acold beyond the war.

“Russia works done economy and geopolitics, offers Trump nett present and now, and besides haggles implicit the taxable of containing China,” Kyiv-based expert Igar Tyshkevych told Al Jazeera.

“Based connected that, the Kremlin is trying to summation governmental concessions that could assistance Russia corroborate its ambitions for the presumption of a geopolitical centre, ” helium said.

“And Ukraine is conscionable a derivative portion – an important but derivative 1 – of these processes,” helium said.

As the White House wants to forestall the fusion of Moscow’s and Beijing’s interests, Trump finds it beneficial to negociate concern projects and governmental interactions with Moscow, Tyshkevych said.

“As a result, the United States is not funny successful a full decision and a situation for Russia. Alas for us,” helium said.

However, some Washington and Beijing wouldn’t hold with boosting Moscow’s geopolitical relation to the presumption of a 3rd planetary power, truthful the White House lone “partially understands” Putin’s ambitions, helium said.

What’s next?

For Ukraine, it each means much hostilities and attacks by Russian drones and missiles – portion Moscow would boost mobilisation of men of warring age, helium said.

One of Ukraine’s pre-eminent subject analysts, meanwhile, is pessimistic astir the summit’s outcomes.

The precise information of a face-to-face with Trump connected American ungraded means Putin was “legitimised” and raised from the relation of a governmental pariah, Lieutenant General Ihor Romanenko, erstwhile lawman caput of the Ukrainian military’s General Staff, told Al Jazeera.

“He was legitimised successful an perfectly unacceptable way” portion being an “international evil antheral who should beryllium held liable for his actions”, Romanenko said.

“Yet again, Trump didn’t fulfil his promises astir sanctions [on Russia], didn’t scope a presumption connected a ceasefire,” helium said.

Ukraine, therefore, volition person to proceed its “complicated combat until Trump grows his willpower and governmental will”, the wide said.

Russia volition accelerate its attempts to interruption done Ukraine’s defence lines successful the eastbound and volition resume its devastating aerial strikes with drones and missiles, helium said.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian authorities volition request to marque strategical decisions to commencement a “full and just” mobilisation of men of warring property and absorption the system connected subject needs, Romanenko said.