Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova on Thursday sharply criticised the United States, alleging that Washington is actively distancing itself from the diplomatic understandings reached by Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump during their 2025 summit in Alaska. Zakharova stated that these summit outcomes, intended to provide a framework for settling the root causes of the Ukraine conflict, have remained "unimplemented" due to a lack of commitment from "one of the sides."
Russia's Accusation and US Response
"The understandings reached by Presidents of Russia & US in Alaska could serve as a basis for resolving the Ukraine conflict. At the moment, we can't help but note that one of the Sides distances itself from the meeting's outcomes, which have remained unimplemented," the Russian Foreign Ministry wrote in a post on X. Zakharova's remarks came after US President Donald Trump, last week, asserted that Moscow needs to negotiate an end to the ongoing hostilities.
Trump committed to doing everything within his power to halt the conflict following what he described as a "very good" meeting between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Group of Seven (G7) leaders at the ongoing summit in France. The US leader arrived at the G7 summit in Evian-les-Bains with a new, early agreement to end the conflict with Iran, using this diplomatic success to show that he is now focusing his attention on ending the war in Ukraine.
G7 Summit and Diplomatic Push
Trump highly praised his joint deliberations with Zelenskyy and other G7 heads of state during a closed-door session. Reaffirming his personal commitment to brokering a diplomatic resolution to the crisis, Trump stated, "I'm gonna do whatever I can," while simultaneously emphasising that Russia should strike a deal. The diplomatic push is aimed at securing enhanced international backing to bolster Ukraine's leverage in potential future negotiations with Moscow.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Zelenskyy highlighted his readiness for direct engagement and said that he had offered to meet Putin at the G7 summit. However, the Russian President has consistently rejected the proposition of direct discussions with Zelenskyy unless such talks are convened in Moscow. At the G7 summit, leaders reaffirmed solidarity with Ukraine, agreeing to increase additional air defence systems, licenses to increase military production, while strengthening sanctions against the Russian oil and gas sectors.
Alaska Summit Agreements
Earlier, after the three-hour-long meeting with his Russian counterpart in Alaska last year, Trump had written on Truth Social: "A great and very successful day in Alaska! The meeting with President Vladimir Putin of Russia went very well, as did a late night phone call with President Zelenskyy of Ukraine, and various European Leaders, including the highly respected Secretary General of NATO. It was determined by all that the best way to end the horrific war between Russia and Ukraine is to go directly to a Peace Agreement, which would end the war, and not a mere Ceasefire Agreement, which often times do not hold up."
President Putin, on the other hand, had said that Russia wishes to establish a just balance of power between the European Union and Russia to address the long-term issues of the conflict. "At the same time, we are convinced that in order to make the settlement lasting and long-term, we need to eliminate all the primary causes of the conflict. We have said it multiple times to consider all legitimate constraints of Russia and to reinstate a just balance of security in Europe and in the world as a whole. I agree with President Trump, as he has said today, that, naturally, the security of Ukraine should be ensured as well. Naturally, we are prepared to welcome that," he said.
US Conditions and Ongoing Hostilities
Subsequently, US Secretary Marco Rubio, in an interview with NBC News Meet the Press, had said Moscow's conditions regarding the peace deal were far from acceptable. "He's certainly asking for things that the Ukrainians and others are not willing to be supportive of and that we're not going to push them to give, and the Ukrainians are asking for things that the Russians are not going to give up on," he said. However, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, prior to the Alaska summit, had said that Ukraine's "number one" demand was for Russia to agree to a ceasefire. Meanwhile, the hostilities continue to rise between the warring nations.
