Russians hope for peace from Putin-Trump summit

Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump are set to meet in Alaska on Friday, marking the first summit since the start of the conflict in Ukraine.

Whether the talks can produce a peace deal remains uncertain, but many Moscow residents are hopeful.

“This (conflict with Ukraine) must end someday, so I hope that some kind of compromise can certainly be found,” one resident said.

“It’s huge deal, that the first step has already been taken,” another commented. “There will definitely be an advantage.”

It will be Putin’s first trip to the United States since 2015, for the U.N. General Assembly in New York. Since the U.S. is not a member of the International Criminal Court, which in 2023 issued a warrant for Putin on war crimes accusations, it is under no obligation to arrest him.

Putin sees a meeting with Trump as a chance to cement Russia’s territorial gains, keep Ukraine out of NATO and prevent it from hosting any Western troops so Moscow can gradually pull the country back into its orbit.

He believes time is on his side as Ukrainian forces are struggling to stem Russian advances along the front line amid swarms of Moscow's missiles and drones battering the country.

The meeting is a diplomatic coup for Putin, isolated since the conflict started. The Kremlin sought to portray renewed U.S. contacts as two superpowers looking to resolve various global problems, with Ukraine being just one.

Ukraine and its European allies are concerned a summit without Kyiv could allow Putin to get Trump on his side and force Ukraine into concessions.

Prior to Trump announcing the meeting with Putin, his efforts to pressure Russia into stopping the fighting had delivered no progress. The Kremlin's bigger army is slowly advancing deeper into Ukraine at great cost in troops and armour. Russia and Ukraine are far apart on their terms for peace.