U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin met on August 15 at a sprawling U.S. military base in Anchorage, Alaska. Trump called it a “feel-out meeting” – the first talks between the two sides since 2019.
What are they hoping to achieve?
Can they agree on, or at least move toward, a ceasefire in Ukraine?
And what stands in the way of ending the conflict?
Guests in this episode of Dialogue are Prof. Peter Kuznick from the Department of History at American University; Andrey Kortunov, former academic director of the Russian International Affairs Council; and Prof. Glenn Diesen¹ from the University of South-Eastern Norway.
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I had the pleasure to discuss the Alaska meeting before it took place. To resolve this NATO-Russia proxy war in Ukraine, it is imperative to identity the source of the conflict to resolve it. Was the war caused by NATO expansionism or unprovoked Russian aggression? While the Europeans want the US to push for a ceasefire, Russia does not think a ceasefire will result in peace – rather, it is aimed at prolonging the war.
