Putin wins and Trump loses his cool
Trump travelled to Alaska on Friday, 15 August, with the superficial strategic goal of convincing Putin to agree to a ceasefire of at least one month so that he could win the Nobel Peace Prize in early October. He offered Putin a humiliating reception, a murderous dictator according to American political literature.
On the red carpet
Putin was greeted by B-52s flying overhead as he made his way to Trump's armoured limousine, nicknamed ‘The Beast’. This is an extremely unusual situation between two leaders, especially as it represents a violation of standard diplomatic and security protocols. Trump then left, behind closed doors, to negotiate a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine. He thought the goal was easy, similar to the agreement signed in Washington on 8 August 2025, which ended the long-running conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan.
But perhaps Trump did not realise that what happened in the South Caucasus deeply upset Russia, which saw its sphere of influence transferred to the Netanyahu/Trump portfolio.
This agreement seemed to be a way to take advantage of Moscow's concern about Ukraine to exclude it from a crucial issue in its ‘backyard,’ the Caucasus. Furthermore, naming the strategic corridor linking Armenia and Azerbaijan after Trump greatly angered Putin, as it threatens Russia's role as an important energy and transport hub between Asia and Europe. It is a step towards redefining the balance of power in the region at the expense of Russia and its ally, Iran.
Israel now has another backyard next to Azerbaijan in the South Caucasus, on the border with Iran. Israel has a strong historical presence in the energy corridors of the Caucasus. At least 50% of Israeli oil comes from Azerbaijan to the port of Ashkelon, and Israel intends to transport it further south to Asia and East Africa via the port of Eilat.
This is not the only thing that worries Moscow about the Israeli presence. It knows that Zionist influence in the Caucasus region could, over time, attempt to revitalise the Khazar Empire, located in a strategic area between Eastern Europe and Central Asia, controlling trade routes between north and south, and between east and west.
Azerbaijan, Ukraine, Hungary, the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea formed the core of the Caucasus. Its geographical features represent the empire whose demise was declared in the 11th century AD. Its resurgence in part of Ukrainian territory has become a necessity, driven by the logistical security of the Greater Israel project.
This project, which Netanyahu recently discussed in conjunction with the Alaska Summit, and which he considered a scenario ready to emerge given Trump's blind support for Israeli extremism, is a project that Moscow considers an existential geopolitical threat. Netanyahu himself comes from an Eastern European Jewish family, a mixture of Ashkenazis and Khazars, and contributed to the downfall of Moscow's ally, Syria's Bashar al-Assad, and subsequently to the bombing of its most important ally, Iran. At the same time, in cooperation with Trump, he removed Armenia from Moscow's orbit, strengthening Israeli influence in the Caucasus.
If Netanyahu is like Ukrainian President Zelensky, against whom Moscow has been fighting for three years, with European support, to keep Zionist-American influence away from its borders, Moscow knows that the goal is to disintegrate Russia into several small states.
Zelensky, an Ashkenazi Jew whose origins also go back to the Khazars, is simply a pawn working to demographically empty Ukraine after the war, which claimed tens of thousands of lives and caused the emigration of numerous Ukrainians. This would facilitate the establishment of any future geographical entity working to revive the Khazar trade corridor as part of the project to partition Ukraine.
He decided to give Trump a lesson in political manipulation that Trump would never forget, shuffling the cards in favour of breaking Moscow's isolation and lifting the blockade imposed on it.
In fact, he managed to strip Trump of the narcissism with which he had insulted his previous guests, forcing him to respect him through diplomatic protocol characterised by unprecedented hospitality. This hospitality earned Trump a wave of attacks from the US media, criticising him for being too obsequious to America's strategic enemy.
Putin then proceeded to the second move on the Alaskan chessboard: denying Trump his main objective for the summit: a ceasefire.
The first surprise came with the slogan ‘No concessions.’ This message was conveyed by veteran Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov upon his arrival in Alaska, wearing a jacket with the name of the Soviet Union on it. What did he mean by that? Ukraine was simply a Russian state before the Soviet Union; it never existed, and we are here to confirm it.
The second surprise came from Putin himself, when he assured Trump that he was not in a position to call for a ceasefire. He was in a better position on the Ukrainian stage during the 2023 Istanbul negotiations, but he did not respond to the ceasefire.
The only solution is to convince Zelensky and Europe to cede at least 30% of Ukrainian territory to Russia, guarantee that Ukraine will not join NATO, and avoid manipulating his homeland, Russia, again.
Trump is feeling tense and anxious. His nomination for the Nobel Peace Prize is faltering and he has no way of responding to Putin. He must convince Europe and Zelensky to accept Putin's offer: not a ceasefire, but a comprehensive peace agreement on Russian terms.
But will Europe repeat its mistake and offer at least 135,000 kilometres of Ukrainian territory to Putin in exchange for a completely uncertain peace, just as it did with Hitler in the 1938 Munich Agreement, when Chamberlain and Daladier agreed to hand over the Sudetenland, part of Czechoslovakia, to Hitler in exchange for peace and the prevention of a major war? Despite this, peace was not achieved, Hitler invaded Poland and World War II broke out. In any case, Friday was not a lucky day for Trump in Alaska.
According to US media close to him, Fox News correspondent Gjaki Heinrich described the scene: ‘The atmosphere in the room was not good. Things did not seem to be going well.’ Putin seemed to come in strong, joined the conversation, had his picture taken with the president, and then left. Similarly, CNN confirmed that Trump left angry.
Trump's body language reflected his nervousness, and when he spoke after meeting with Putin, he left the ball in Ukraine and Europe's court, announcing that he would call Zelensky to a meeting in the United States the following Monday. Perhaps Putin's unspoken goal in this meeting was to blame Zelensky for the failure of the negotiations with Putin.
Trump's rhetoric suggests that if the United States is $37 trillion in debt, it is in no position to continue financing Ukraine militarily or even providing it with security guarantees.
Therefore, it can be said that Putin emerged victorious from Alaska thanks to his reading of the situation. He turned Trump into a mere ambassador, persuading Europe and Ukraine to surrender to Moscow, which constitutes a major tactical success.
In this context, he also managed to break Russia's isolation and strip the International Criminal Court's arrest warrant of its executive power. He arrived in the United States and left under the protection of the US Air Force. Most importantly, he avoided new sanctions against his country.
This deepened the internal wounds of Trump, who was the target of a fierce media attack after promoting Putin politically on the international stage and reinforcing his image in Russia. In return, Putin made no concessions, leaving Trump alone to face the storms of anger within the United States, NATO and Europe.
Mohamed Guma Bilazi, writer and international analyst