Global leaders offered mixed reactions on Saturday to the summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska, which ended without progress toward resolving Moscow’s war in Ukraine.
Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide criticized Putin’s approach, saying the Russian leader repeated long-standing justifications for the invasion. “We must continue to put pressure on Russia, and even increase it, to give the clear signal that it must pay the price,” he said. Eide warned that Putin’s goal was to divide Europe and the United States, but expressed optimism that Western unity could hold.
Czech Defence Minister Jana Cernochova also dismissed the summit as unproductive, writing on X that it showed Putin “is not looking for peace, but an opportunity to weaken the unity of the West and spread his propaganda.” She stressed that Western cohesion and sustained military support for Ukraine were essential to prevent any ceasefire deal from being dictated by Moscow.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban struck a more positive tone, praising the mere fact of dialogue. “For years we have watched the two biggest nuclear powers dismantle the framework of their cooperation and shoot unfriendly messages back and forth. That has now come to an end. Today the world is a safer place than it was yesterday,” he wrote on Facebook.
The contrasting statements underline deep divisions within Europe over how to interpret the outcome of the Trump-Putin talks, which both leaders had described as “productive” despite yielding no agreement to halt the nearly three-year-old war in Ukraine.
Written By Rodney Mbua
