‘Next time in Moscow?’: Five takeaways after Trump and Putin’s Alaska summit

The meeting between US and Russian presidents, Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin, was billed as a vital step towards peace in Ukraine.

But with no ceasefire and an invitation to Moscow, the meeting has yielded more questions than answers.

Here are five key takeaways from the Alaska summit.

Trump welcomed Putin back on world stage with red carpet

Trump waited for Putin on a red carpet spread across the runway of the Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson. As Putin approached, Trump clapped. The two leaders warmly shook hands and smiled.

It was a remarkable moment for Putin – a leader shunned by most Western nations since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. His international travel has since been largely limited to nations friendly to the Russian Federation, such as North Korea and Belarus.

That the Alaska summit happened at all was a victory for Putin. But this welcome would have surpassed the Kremlin’s wildest dreams. In a short six months Putin has gone from being a pariah of the West to being welcomed on US soil like a partner and friend.

In an apparently unscripted moment, Putin accepted a lift to the airbase in Trump’s armoured limousine instead of driving in his own Moscow-plated presidential car. As the vehicle pulled away, the cameras zoomed in on Putin sitting in the backseat and laughing.