WASHINGTON, August 16. /TASS/. Talks between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his US counterpart Donald Trump in Alaska became an "excellent first step" in improving relations between Moscow and Washington and settling the Ukraine crisis with the easing of tensions being apparent, Peter Kuznick, director of the Nuclear Studies Institute at American University, told a TASS correspondent, commenting on the summit’s results.

"Not only did the meeting not fail outright, as some hoped it would — especially most European leaders, US media, many Congressional representatives, and certain Ukrainian leaders — but both presidents indicated that they made progress and agreed on more than they disagreed on. They also indicated that they would meet again soon, which is positive," the political scientist said.

"I would say that, on balance, this is an excellent first step and I hope they follow up sooner rather than later with another meeting that leads to them hammering out a productive framework for ending the Ukraine War and going beyond that to ease global tensions and walk us back from the terrifying precipice of WWIII," Kuznick emphasized.

He stated that "it's great that the tensions that were so palpable during the Biden presidency have begun to ease and we're at least talking again. The Russia-Ukraine war is a disaster for everyone involved and the sooner it ends, the better for everyone. Getting the US and Russia, the world's two nuclear-armed behemoths, sitting down together and talking instead of making threats, is an enormous step in the right direction."

Additionally, Kuznick reiterated that the Alaska summit was attended by "businessmen and economic advisors," indicating that the sides are discussing "sanctions relief and joint economic development projects, including Arctic development and perhaps a Bering Strait tunnel connecting the two countries."

"I also thought it extremely encouraging that there seemed to be interest on both parts to work toward a new nuclear arms control treaty, especially with the New START treaty expiring in February," the expert concluded.

Talks in Anchorage

On August 15, a summit between Russia and the US took place at a military base in Alaska. The talks lasted more than three hours and included several formats: one-on-one in the American leader's limousine en route to the main venue and in a small group of "three on three." The Russian delegation included Kremlin aide Yury Ushakov and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, while the US delegation included Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff.

Following the talks, Putin told the press that the settlement of the Ukrainian conflict was the main topic of the summit. The Russian leader also called for a new beginning in bilateral relations and a return to cooperation. He invited Trump to Moscow. For his part, the US president announced the progress achieved in the talks but noted that the two sides had not reached an agreement on everything.