Putin and Trump meet in Alaska on Ukraine -- no results, meeting ends early, no questions taken at presser

Vambram said:

"Dear President Putin," the first lady’s letter begins. "Every child shares the same quiet dreams in their heart, whether born randomly into a nation’s rustic countryside or a magnificent city-center. They dream of love, possibility, and safety from danger."

"As parents, it is our duty to nurture the next generation’s hope," the letter continued. "As leaders, the responsibility to sustain our children extends beyond the comfort of a few."

"Undeniably, we must strive to paint a dignity-filled world for all—so that every soul may wake to peace, and so that the future itself is perfectly guarded," read the letter. "A simple yet profound concept, Mr. Putin, as I am sure you agree, is that each generation’s descendants begin their lives with a purity—an innocence which stands above geography, government, and ideology."

First Lady Melania Trump’s ‘peace letter’ to Putin: ‘It is time’

EXCLUSIVE: First Lady Melania Trump wrote a “peace letter" to Russian President Vladimir Putin telling him “it is time" to protect children and future generations around the globe, Fox News Digital has learned.

www.foxnews.com

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public hermit said:

It sounds like it was a successful strategy session for Putin. Trump is so weak. As soon as Putin started talking, you can bet Trump was immediately swayed and acquiesced to whatever. I mean, Trump is smitten with Putin.

President Donald Trump has been critical of any number of people, countries and concepts since he entered the political landscape over a decade ago. But one person he seems to have always had a soft spot for, even before his run in politics, is Russian President Vladimir Putin. What follows is a long list of statements where Trump declares his love for Putin.

https://www.usnews.com/news/politics/articles/2025-04-14/the-literally-dozens-of-times-donald-trump-has-praised-vladimir-putin

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childeye 2 said:

It's like night and day how Trump and his staff treated Zelensky and how they treated Putin. Putin got the red carpet and Zelensky got scolded for not wearing a suit and tie.

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ThatRobGuy said:

What you're describing here is the fundamental tug-o-war in mediation, between pragmatism and principled neutrality.

Being a little more careful not to alienate the more powerful party has some basis in practicality. If the more powerful party walks away, the mediation collapses entirely. They often have more options and less to lose from walking away from the mediation table, so they're likely more willing to do so if they get the slightest whiff that the mediator is taking the other side.


For example, if HR called me in as a "neutral 3rd party" (the company I work for actually does do this) to help mediate a dispute between "Joe the Accountant" and "Dave, the Director of Accounting". It's Dave that I would need to make sure doesn't get ticked off and leave in huff. Precisely because he has more levers to pull to "put an end to the dispute" -- up to an including firing Joe, or assigning Joe undesirable tasks until he quits... Joe has no leverage on Dave.


Whether or not that's a mistake varies from situation to situation. And it's a fine line between "making sure the key person doesn't leave the table" and "coddling the key person"

History is an interesting teacher on this one. Because the reason we have a "Putin Problem" today, is because FDR employed that logic (obviously a bit too much)... when acting as a "mediator" between Churchill and Stalin to hash out what post war Europe would look like, he arguably favored Stalin more to keep him engaged since Stalin had a little more leverage (and less to lose by walking away from the table). Hence the reason he agreed to the arrangement of Soviet dominance of eastern Europe in exchange for Soviet entry in the Pacific battle theater (which paved the way for Russia becoming the powerhouse it became -- the outgrowth of which, was Putin)

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essentialsaltes said:

"The second meeting is going to be very, but I'm not going to be happy with that. So, we'll see what happens. I'm going to be, I won't be happy if I walk away without some form of a ceasefire. Now, I say this, and I've said it from the beginning, this is really setting the table today," Trump said in Friday's interview.

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NxNW said:

Masterful! This guy's playing 11th dimensional chess, and it's our privilege to watch it unfold.

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essentialsaltes said:

The 24 hours that Trump estimates for his time to end Russia's invasion of Ukraine has seemingly been extended again indefinitely.

Trump had promised 'severe consequences' to Putin if a ceasefire wasn't reached. Will anything happen?

Trump-Putin meeting live updates: Zelenskyy to travel to DC on Monday to meet with President Trump​

President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin met in Alaska on Friday in their high-stakes summit seeking a ceasefire in the Russia-Ukraine war, but while Putin mentioned an "agreement" in the post-meeting news conference and Trump said "great progress" was made, there was no mention of a ceasefire.

--
Chronologically...

[before the meeting]​

[Trump:] "I'd like to see a ceasefire. I wouldn't be thrilled if I didn't get it. But everyone says you're not going to get the ceasefire, it'll take place on the second meeting. The second meeting is going to be very, but I'm not going to be happy with that. So, we'll see what happens. I'm going to be, I won't be happy if I walk away without some form of a ceasefire. Now, I say this, and I've said it from the beginning, this is really setting the table today," Trump said in Friday's interview.

Russia boasts about red carpet treatment for Putin​

"The Western media in a state that can be described as insanity bordering on complete madness, for three years, they have been reporting on Russia's isolation, but today they witnessed the red carpet that greeted the Russian President in the United States," the spokesperson said in a statement.

Both leaders allude to progress, but no specifics​

Much remains unclear at this stage following the nearly three-hour meeting.
a ceasefire ... was a priority of Trump's for Friday's summit.

Trump had warned of 'severe consequences' if Putin did not agree to stop war​

Days before the summit, Trump had threatened "severe consequences" against Russia if Putin did not agree to stop his war on Ukraine.

'Next time in Moscow,' Putin suggests​

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Vambram said:

"Dear President Putin," the first lady’s letter begins. "Every child shares the same quiet dreams in their heart, whether born randomly into a nation’s rustic countryside or a magnificent city-center. They dream of love, possibility, and safety from danger."

"As parents, it is our duty to nurture the next generation’s hope," the letter continued. "As leaders, the responsibility to sustain our children extends beyond the comfort of a few."

"Undeniably, we must strive to paint a dignity-filled world for all—so that every soul may wake to peace, and so that the future itself is perfectly guarded," read the letter. "A simple yet profound concept, Mr. Putin, as I am sure you agree, is that each generation’s descendants begin their lives with a purity—an innocence which stands above geography, government, and ideology."

First Lady Melania Trump’s ‘peace letter’ to Putin: ‘It is time’

EXCLUSIVE: First Lady Melania Trump wrote a “peace letter" to Russian President Vladimir Putin telling him “it is time" to protect children and future generations around the globe, Fox News Digital has learned.

www.foxnews.com

Click to expand...

essentialsaltes said:

Trump had promised 'severe consequences' to Putin if a ceasefire wasn't reached

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wing2000 said:

Even showing off his military toys upon Putin's arrival wasn't enough to compensate for Trump's insecurity. The POTUS was standing there (on the red carpet) applauding like a school boy as the butcher of Russia approached him.

How humiliating for our country

America never looked so weak facing any leader of the former USSR or Russia.

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