Trump’s efforts at Alaska summit applauded by world leaders

World leaders hailed President Trump’s push for a diplomatic breakthrough in the deadly war in Ukraine, calling his sitdown with Vladimir Putin a “glimmer of hope” on Saturday — a jarring contrast to the triumphant mood in Moscow at no longer being viewed as a global pariah.

“President Trump’s efforts have brought us closer than ever before to ending Russia’s illegal war in Ukraine,” UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said in a statement. “His leadership in pursuit of an end to the killing should be commended.

The reactions came after Trump debriefed European leaders, including Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, about his summit with Putin during a Saturday morning phone call.

“While progress has been made, the next step must be further talks involving President Zelensky,” Starmer added.

Leaders expressed relief that no land was negotiated without Ukrainian leaders present, after Trump last week had hinted that discussions could include “some swapping of territories.”

“There were no territorial negotiations between Putin and Trump over the heads of Ukraine and the Europeans, said German Chancellor Friedrich Merz in a video address. “That is good news.”

“A glimmer of hope has finally opened to discuss peace in Ukraine,” rejoiced Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.

European leaders stressed their desire to see unwavering security guarantees for Ukraine as part of a deal, including possible NATO and EU membership.

“I welcome, in this regard, the readiness of the United States to contribute,” French President Emmanuel Macron posted on X Saturday.

“It will also be essential to draw all the lessons from the past 30 years, in particular from Russia’s well-established tendency not to honor its own commitments,” he added.

Others, however were much more skeptical of Moscow’s intentions.

“The results of the Alaska summit confirm that while the US and its allies are seeking paths to peace, Putin is still only interested in the greatest possible territorial gains and the restoration of the Soviet empire,” said Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala.

“Today, it is even clearer that Russia respects only the strong, and Putin has once again proven to be a cunning and ruthless player,” Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said on X.

In Russia, the summit was seen as a clear win — the red carpet was even rolled out for Putin.

The Russian strongman left the world stage facing no immediate sanctions despite not agreeing to calls for a long sought-after cease-fire.

“The President of Russia personally and in detail outlined to the President of the United States our conditions for ending the conflict in Ukraine,” Deputy Chairman of Russia’s Security Council Dmitry Medvedev wrote on Telegram.

“Following a nearly three-hour conversation, the head of the White House refused to escalate pressure on Russia.”

The meeting, where Putin received the red-carpet treatment, also signaled the end to Moscow’s diplomatic isolation, a status the Kremlin had faced since beginning its war on Ukraine in 2022.

In March 2023, the Russian strongman was convicted of war crimes by the International Criminal Court and a warrant for his arrest was issued.

“Western media are in a state that can be called insanity, bordering on complete madness,” wrote the foreign ministry spokesperson, Maria Zakharova, on Telegram.

“For three years, they have been talking about Russia’s isolation, and today they saw the red carpet that greeted the Russian President in the United States.”