"Putin caught Trump off guard": This is what the press writes about the "useless" summit

"Kyiv Independent" (Ukraine): Disgusting. Shameful. And ultimately useless. These were the words that came to mind as we watched the Alaska Summit. On our screens, a bloodied dictator and war criminal was given a royal welcome in the land of the free – while his combat drones headed for our cities.

Ahead of the Alaska meeting, Trump declared he wanted "a ceasefire today" and that Putin would face "severe consequences" if he didn't comply. But after a two-and-a-half-hour closed-door meeting, Trump and Putin emerged and shared... nothing. There was "progress" and some "understanding," but the two couldn't agree on the "most important issue"—Ukraine.

Trump didn't get what he wanted. But Putin? Certainly. From the moment he stepped off the plane onto US soil, the Russian dictator beamed. He was no longer an international pariah, but was finally accepted—and respected—by the leader of the free world. Trump's predecessor had once called Putin a murderer; Trump gave him a royal welcome.

"Bild" newspaper: It was an absurd political spectacle that we witnessed here in Alaska, and one wonders: Did it go badly because Trump apparently failed to reach a deal? Or did it go well simply because, contrary to many fears, he didn't sell Ukraine to Putin?

One thing is clear in any case: There were no previously agreed positions on which an agreement could be reached. Apparently, this is one of the reasons why the originally planned one-on-one meeting between Trump and Putin was changed to a format with foreign ministers and advisors. [...] If nothing concrete is said at a press conference, if no questions are answered, if lunch is canceled and everyone leaves the room as quickly as possible, then something has gone wrong. Or from the Ukrainian perspective: it went well because Trump didn't betray them.

"The Guardian" (England): Putin may have been a guest at a meeting on US soil, but the Russian leader garnered far more prestige than his host. Putin spoke to reporters first—a break with convention that gave him the opportunity to set the tone for a brief and at times quixotic press conference in Anchorage.

[...] As if to underscore his dominant role in the negotiations, Putin ended the briefing by suggesting that the next meeting be held in Moscow—an invitation that caught Trump off guard, who admitted it would cause "a little anger" at home. But he didn't rule it out.

"Politico" (USA): Putin nevertheless appears to have benefited most from the encounter. He secured the meeting despite being wanted for war crimes and was welcomed on American soil as a friend, not as the leader of a pariah state that had invaded a sovereign neighboring country.

And he got all this without first agreeing to major concessions, including a ceasefire—and left Anchorage without committing to a ceasefire, even though Trump said during their joint press conference that his Russian counterpart was committed to saving thousands of lives. Apparently, not so much.

Tass (Russian news agency): The Western media, which had reported on Russia's isolation, are now completely beside themselves because of the meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his US counterpart Donald Trump in the US, said Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova.

Regarding the meeting between the two heads of state in Alaska, she wrote on Telegram: "The Western media are in a state that can be described as frenzy, turning into complete madness: for three years they have reported that Russia is isolated, and today they have seen the red carpet rolled out to welcome the Russian president in the United States," the diplomat said.