MOSCOW, August 16. /TASS/. The meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump in Alaska marked a significant turning point in Trump's stance on Ukraine, according to Vladimir Zharikhin, deputy director of the CIS Countries Institute. In an interview with TASS, Zharikhin noted that this shift has opened new possibilities for reaching a peace settlement.

The analyst concurred with Trump's own assessment of the talks, which he rated a perfect ten out of ten.

"There has been a fundamental change in Trump's position, which now creates real opportunities for peace. For a long time, Vladimir Zelensky and the EU leadership have been pushing their model on Trump - one that is entirely unviable and has effectively blocked progress toward peace: first an unconditional ceasefire, then everything else," Zharikhin explained.

He added that Trump has finally embraced the Russian perspective during the summit - that the key is to achieve a peace agreement, followed by a ceasefire. This understanding is why the American leader chose not to immediately impose secondary sanctions on Russia's trading partners, the analyst continued.

"I see this as a very positive development. Trump likely preferred not to publicly announce this fundamental change at a press conference, where he might face criticism from unfriendly journalists. Instead, the two leaders limited their statements," Zharikhin remarked. He emphasized that Trump accepted the position that "there is no deal because Ukraine does not accept it," and made it clear after the summit that the decision rests with Zelensky.

"It is not Putin who must decide whether to declare an immediate ceasefire, but Zelensky - whether he is willing to accept peace conditions, which naturally include territorial considerations. I believe this was a brilliant diplomatic victory. Now, the ball is in Zelensky's court and in that of the EU countries, who have been blocking genuine progress toward peace by insisting on an immediate ceasefire," the expert stated.

Zharikhin described the shift in Trump's stance as "a victory for common sense." He observed that Trump has finally realized what has been hindering progress - namely, that Zelensky is the obstacle to moving forward with a real peace agreement.

Alaska summit

On August 15, a meeting between Russian and US Presidents Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump took place at a military base in Alaska. The rendezvous lasted about three hours: there was a one-on-one discussion in the American leader's limousine on the way to the main venue for the talks and a narrow "three-on-three" meeting. The Russian side was also represented by Presidential aide Yury Ushakov and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, while the American side was represented by Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff.

In a statement to the press following the talks, Putin said that the settlement of the Ukrainian conflict was the main topic of the summit. The Russian leader also called for turning the page in bilateral relations and returning to cooperation, and invited Trump to Moscow. For his part, the US president announced the progress made in the talks, but noted that the parties had not managed to reach agreement on everything.