With flattery and warnings, Russia tries to revive ‘spirit of Alaska’ with US
MOSCOW: Two months after a smiling Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin shook hands at a military base in Alaska in what looked like the start of a US-Russia rapprochement, a top Russian diplomat has raised doubts that the “spirit of Alaska” is still alive.
For Russia, the Anchorage summit on August 15 had two goals: to persuade President Trump to lean on Ukraine and Europe to agree to a peace settlement favorable to Moscow, and to encourage a rapprochement in US-Russia ties.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said this week there had been scant progress on either front and “powerful momentum” had been lost. Moscow had signalled it was ready to rebuild ties but Washington had not reciprocated, he said.
“We have a certain edifice of relations that has cracked and is collapsing,” Ryabkov said. “Now the cracks have reached the foundation.”
Putin says complex issues require more study
After Ryabkov spoke, a Kremlin aide and Putin’s spokesman underlined that contacts with Washington continue, and the Russian leader sounded more optimistic than Ryabkov when asked about Ukraine and ties with the US on Friday.
“These are complex issues that require further consideration. But we remain committed to the discussion that took place in Anchorage,” Putin told a press conference.
His aide later told the Kommersant newspaper that Russia had agreed to unspecified concessions at the Alaska summit it would be ready to make if Trump got certain things from Ukraine and the Europeans.
Such a contrast in tone among senior officials is rare in Moscow and highlights the delicacy and sensitivity of the twin-track approach Russia is taking — combining flattery and warnings to adapt to diplomatic reversals since the summit.
