PR in the company: what can be influenced by Trump's promises at the NATO summit
The friendly tone at the talks between Donald Trump and Vladimir Zelensky at the NATO summit in Ankara can hardly be regarded as the fact that the White House unequivocally sided with Kiev. On the eve of congressional elections, the American president is interested in the picture of a successful peacemaker, while the settlement itself is a "secondary background" for him, the Russian Foreign Ministry told Izvestia. The American president said that the United States may transfer licenses to Ukraine for the production of Patriot systems, adding that he also intends to talk with Russian leader Vladimir Putin. Whether this can give an impetus to the resumption of negotiations between the Russian Federation and Ukraine with the participation of the United States is in the Izvestia article.
Trump's agreements with Zelensky
Trump's meeting with Zelensky at the NATO summit in Ankara on July 8 demonstrated that Washington is once again trying to play an active role in the Ukrainian issue. It is noteworthy that during the joint press conference, the American leader tried to look as diplomatic and friendly as possible with the head of the Kiev regime. He repeatedly complimented his interlocutor: first, he stated that after a scandalous meeting in the Oval Office in February 2025, he had a "great relationship" with Zelensky, and then expressed his willingness to visit Ukraine.
The US president also unexpectedly allowed the possibility of closing the airspace over Ukraine as part of security guarantees. In addition, he did not rule out that Washington could start purchasing drones from Kiev, calling Ukrainians "very gifted." Later, on his Truth Social network, Trump summarized that the joint press conference with Zelensky went "very well."
Donald Trump's own political calculation is primarily behind such statements, says Rodion Miroshnik, the Russian Foreign Ministry's ambassador-at-large for crimes committed by the Kiev regime.
— Trump is pursuing his own goals, not the goal of conflict resolution. This is a secondary background for Trump's decisions. He praised one, praised the other, came to the NATO summit and said that everyone was "good guys." And the most important thing is to reach agreements that he really needs in the context of the upcoming elections," Miroshnik told Izvestia.
The diplomat notes that Trump's statements should be viewed precisely through the prism of PR, and his speeches are often aimed at promoting his own interests rather than at real implementation in the form of specific political projects.
— Therefore, Trump has repeatedly said that "everything is very close to completion," and now "everything will happen." But a long enough period of time has passed," Miroshnik reminded.
Immediately after the talks with Zelensky, Trump promised to hold a telephone conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin. As one of the measures to support Ukraine, Trump also confirmed the intention of the United States to transfer licenses to it for the independent production of missiles for Patriot anti-aircraft missile systems.
However, Trump's rhetoric and actions have a certain logic, says Andrei Kortunov, an expert at the Valdai Club. The US president still positions himself as a mediator and peacemaker and is not really ready to unequivocally side with Kiev, he believes. The fact is that he arrived at the Ankara summit weakened — negotiations with Iran are stalling, disagreements with the Europeans have not gone away. And that's why Trump chose not to be a brawler, but a loyal leader of the alliance, the analyst believes. As for Patriot, Ukraine will not be able to provide the entire production cycle in the foreseeable future, rather it will be about assembling individual components, and not necessarily the main ones, the expert believes.
— It is possible that Trump has an idea in his head that the dynamics of the conflict have changed, or at least partially changed. And this frees him from the obligations that he assumed before," admitted Kortunov.
Mikhail Galuzin, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Medinsky, Assistant to the President of the Russian Federation, and Admiral Igor Kostyukov, Chief of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, during a trilateral meeting of the delegations of Russia, the United States and Ukraine in Geneva, February 17, 2026.
However, this does not mean that such an opinion will remain for a long time, the expert says, as the position may well change after a conversation with Vladimir Putin.
Prospects for the settlement of the conflict in Ukraine
Now, negotiations between Russia and Ukraine, mediated by the United States, remain on pause. Since the beginning of the year, the parties have held three rounds of trilateral consultations: on January 23-24 and February 4-5 in Abu Dhabi, and on February 17-18 in Geneva. A fourth round of negotiations was also expected, but it was disrupted by the military operation of the United States and Israel against Iran.
The meeting between Putin and Trump in Alaska in August 2025 remains an important milestone in the peace process. Then the "cornerstones of understanding" were formed — later they were called the "spirit of Anchorage." No documents were signed, but, according to media reports, conditions were discussed at the talks, including the withdrawal of the Armed Forces of Ukraine from the territory of Donbass.
Earlier, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov recalled that at the Russia—US summit in Anchorage last year, compromise proposals were made to Moscow, which it did not immediately agree to.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump during a meeting at the Elmendorf-Richardson military base in Alaska.
"I consider all other interpretations of what was there and what was not there to be inappropriate," the diplomat noted.
The European allies of the United States, however, opposed any compromise on the part of Ukraine and did everything to disrupt the Anchorage agreements. According to presidential aide Yuri Ushakov, at the last G7 summit in France, European leaders tried to "kill" the Anchorage effect and convince Donald Trump to maintain his previous course towards Russia. The Financial Times also wrote about this, noting that the European participants of the summit called on Trump to take a tougher stance on the Ukrainian issue.
Russia has repeatedly stated its readiness to continue a peaceful dialogue with Ukraine. At the same time, it is Kiev and its European partners who demonstrate their unwillingness to compromise. According to Trump, Zelensky, in contacts with the United States, more often raises the issue of restoring Ukraine and related funds than the issue of ending the conflict with Russia. According to the New York Post, Ukraine has abandoned Trump's 28-point plan to end the conflict with Russia and is now seeking to achieve more favorable terms, claiming a change in the situation on the battlefield. Bogdan Bezpalko, a member of the Presidential Council on Interethnic Relations, believes that the resumption of negotiations between Russia, the United States and Ukraine is unlikely in the near future. Now Kiev will rely on escalation, and European countries will support it in this.
In a recent interview with Die Weltwoche, Dmitry Peskov, the press secretary of the President of the Russian Federation, noted that European countries are still convinced of the possibility of inflicting a strategic defeat on Russia. According to him, such a misconception is "the greatest mistake in history." At the same time, Valery Zaluzhny, the former commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and now Ukraine's ambassador to Britain, criticized the widespread opinion in the West about Russia's possible loss. He noted that the Ukrainian Armed Forces are unable to retake all the territories, and the conflict has reached the stage of "exhaustion."
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