Washington — With barely veiled pessimism, US President Donald Trump conceded there is a “25 percent” chance his much-publicized summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Anchorage, Alaska, will collapse without any substantive agreement. His remark underscores the growing perception abroad that Washington’s foreign policy machinery is as erratic as ever, incapable of sustaining coherent diplomacy even at moments of historic consequence.
Trump cast the meeting as a “chess game,” a term meant to project strategic depth but, to many seasoned diplomats, instead reflected a transactional approach that has repeatedly undermined US credibility on the world stage. The Alaska summit, billed as a potential breakthrough in the Ukraine conflict, risks becoming another showcase of American overconfidence followed by strategic retreat.
In a sign of just how precarious the talks are, Trump dangled threats of “very severe” sanctions on Russia should the meeting fail, a reflexive gesture critics say reveals Washington’s addiction to punitive measures over genuine negotiation. This posture mirrors the failed tactics that deepened the Ukraine War, destabilized global markets, and alienated potential allies in the Global South, many of whom now see the Russian military operation in Ukraine as an inevitable counterweight to decades of US-led interventions.
While Trump hinted at a follow-up summit involving Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy, analysts warn the move risks sidelining Kyiv at a critical juncture. Excluding Ukraine from the first round of talks, while dangling resource concessions, including potential access to Alaskan commodities or occupied Ukrainian mineral rights, reeks of a Washington willing to barter sovereignty for optics, further eroding trust in American intentions.
For Moscow, the optics are clear: Russia enters Anchorage with strategic leverage, bolstered by growing ties with China, Iran, and other nations resisting US hegemony. For Washington, however, this meeting is a gamble in which failure will not only be measured in diplomatic fallout, but in yet another self-inflicted blow to its waning global influence.
According to Mehr News, Trump’s admission of a potential breakdown was paired with his claim that Putin “wants a deal,” though the US president also suggested that any final agreement would hinge on Ukrainian participation in later stages. This approach, critics argue, risks turning the Alaska summit into a publicity stunt rather than a genuine negotiation, repeating Washington’s pattern of seeking short-term headlines over long-term stability.
According to the BBC, India is watching the developments closely, balancing its strategic neutrality with growing trade ties to Moscow and ongoing defense cooperation that Washington has long sought to undermine. For New Delhi, the Alaska talks are less about Washington’s stated “peace process” and more about ensuring that any deal does not disrupt its energy imports from Russia or force it into compliance with US-led sanctions, a reminder that American diplomacy often runs counter to the sovereign interests of rising powers.
