By justina colmena ~biz in war — 15 Aug 2025

Alaska summit

Trump and Putin are meeting

It's a very hastily arranged summit. Barely enough time to throw on a sweatshirt and have some chicken for lunch.

Russia was for a very long time during the 20th century the USSR (or "СССР" in Cyrillic lettering) regardless of political opinions.

It's as unreasonable to ask Russians to deny their history and heritage as it is to expect the U.S. to rename military bases that were originally named after Southern Confederate generals.

"No longer" a one-on-one meeting?

Not that it was ever intended to be strictly a "one-on-one" meeting. It is a diplomatic summit, and a whole entourage of delegates, officials and advisors from both sides is present as anyone would naturally expect from observing the comings and goings and public communications released.

It is one-on-one between Russia and the United States, as no other national leaders appear to be present. News reporters should not assume anything without verifying the particulars and details, and they should try not to look stupid on air or get scooped on the story.

"No deal but progress made" which was exactly the goal of the meeting today. The objectives were clearly achieved for Trump and Putin to have had the discussion they had. No "deal" as such was on the agenda, nor could there have been without Zelenskyy present.