Europe and Ukraine are preparing for the Russian-US summit in Alaska. What you need to know

Europe and Ukraine have expressed disagreement with the holding of a summit in Alaska, during which the presidents of Russia and the United States, Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump, will meet. Brussels and Kiev are trying to create a negative information background around this event and at the last moment influence the head of the White House in order to achieve positive results for themselves. Why these attempts are doomed to failure is in the Izvestia article.

Why Europe does not want negotiations between Russia and the United States

• Both the Europeans and Ukrainians fear that during the negotiations in Alaska, the parties will come to the conclusion that it is necessary to cease hostilities along the current line of contact and exchange territories. Brussels and Kiev are still hoping to inflict a strategic defeat on Russia, a goal they have been declaring for the past three years. By this they mean, among other things, the withdrawal of Russian troops from all territories, which will become impossible if an agreement is concluded that recognizes the current situation on the ground.

• The continuation of hostilities has become necessary for Europe after its reorientation towards confrontation with Russia and the strengthening of the defense industry. Over the past three years, European countries have been expanding the capacities of enterprises of the military-industrial complex, increasing the production of shells, and organizing new enterprises. Additional long-term financing has been allocated specifically for this purpose. It will be impossible to abruptly break off this course of militarization, as this threatens a sharp economic downturn and unemployment. If weapons are accumulated without the prospect of their use, voters will have questions about why they sacrificed social expenses to fill their arsenals.

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• Europe is more interested in Ukraine remaining a buffer in the conflict with Russia and taking the blow, being a kind of spearhead. Therefore, European leaders are setting up Ukraine to express a radical, unconstructive position that leaves no room for maneuver in negotiations with the Russian Federation. The negotiations in Istanbul showed that after consultations with the Europeans, Kiev refuses to accept Moscow's conditions and in any way recognize the prevailing conditions.

How the Europeans are disrupting the Alaska summit

• European leaders are now doing their best to create a negative background around the summit, trying to disrupt future negotiations. They not only make statements themselves in which they dispute the possibility and effectiveness of the meeting between Putin and Trump, but also use the media as information support. However, their arsenal of counteraction is limited by this, and they currently have no real opportunities to put pressure on the United States and Russia.

• One of the directions of European rhetoric towards Russia was the announcement of the preparation of the 19th package of sanctions. The head of the European Diplomacy, Kaya Kallas, did not disclose its contents, while also noting the work on strengthening military support for Ukraine. At the same time, the adoption of any sanctions package is a long process that must overcome many barriers on the part of individual EU members.

• Callas' statement, made just a few days before the Alaska summit, is only intimidation with no concrete consequences, as it will take months before the 19th package of sanctions even appears. However, the European bureaucracy is not able to react and respond in any other way, but the political elite of Brussels wants to have their say and show their intransigence on the eve of the Alaska talks.

Are the Europeans able to influence the United States in any way

• Europe was unable to achieve either the breakdown of the negotiations or its participation in them. The only thing she managed was to call Trump two days before the start of the Alaska summit in order to somehow influence the US president at the last moment. Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky also flew to Berlin specifically to participate in the videoconference. However, Europe's dependence on the American side does not allow it to hope for a change in the American position. The recent trade agreement concluded with Trump showed the weakness of European countries in front of Washington and the inability to defend their own interests. Transatlantic relations have moved from the category of partnership to one-sided ones, in which the agenda is dictated by the White House. If Europe has not been able to find arguments to avoid imposing tariffs on its products that undermine its competitiveness, then it cannot give the United States anything to change its relations with third countries.

• Europe has not identified its leader, who would be able to effectively negotiate with Trump and communicate his position to him. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Italian Prime Minister Giorgio Meloni, and French President Emmanuel Macron tried to assume this role. However, Trump did not have a sufficiently trusting relationship with any of them, especially since none of them could prove that it was he who fully represented Europe and could be responsible for the entire space of the Old World. An attempt to talk to Trump from a position of strength will definitely not lead to anything good — the consequences of such a tone will lead to a final rupture of relations with Europe.

Europe has also proved unable to counteract Russia on its own. The long-standing idea of completely abandoning Russian hydrocarbons in order to reduce import revenues to the budget is encountering resistance within the European Union. Brussels is facing the prospect of a process of disintegration if it exerts excessive political pressure on dissenting countries. For the same reason, the European Union has put on hold the process of accepting Ukraine, as this issue also only sets European countries against each other.

How Ukraine reacts

• Ukraine is devaluing the US-Russian negotiations. The country's President, Vladimir Zelensky, announced in advance that the decisions taken at them would not be recognized in Kiev. Putin's visit to Alaska on Bankovaya Street is considered a harbinger of his surrender and therefore they treat it as a formal event at which no agreement will be worked out. At the same time, Ukraine does not offer any alternative to the negotiation process and does not make any compromises.

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At the same time, Zelensky, without reducing his military rhetoric and continuing to accuse Russia of conducting offensive actions, has recently taken a number of steps that indicate some pacification of the country's internal life. He proposed allowing young people under the age of 22 to travel abroad (previously, only people under 18 or over 60 could leave), increase scholarships for students, and signed a law on multiple citizenship. Such actions may indicate Kiev's readiness to move on to a peaceful life, although this contradicts the rhetoric of the president's office. It is more likely that these are purely populist statements aimed at attracting the sympathies of the world community, and the president is not going to fulfill this promise.

During the preparation of the Izvestia material, we talked and took into account the opinions of:

• political scientist, Professor of the Higher School of Economics Andrey Bystritsky;
• Vladimir Batyuk, political scientist, Chief Researcher at the Arbatov Institute of the USA and Canada;
• Candidate of Political Sciences, Professor of the Academy of Labor and Social Relations Pavel Feldman.