What can we expect from the Alaska summit between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin? Is this the result of Trump’s recent pressure campaign and the potential ramping up of “sanctions,” even those by another name, such as the tariffs being levied on India? Is it war weariness in Russia, however difficult such a development is to discern? Does it reflect Putin’s belief that by pounding Ukraine relentlessly in the last several months, he’s created a framework for “taking the win”? Will it be merely symbolic, or can something genuine be achieved?

Will any other European leaders attend? They are already complaining about being excluded, and, as I write these words, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz is busily orchestrating a telephonic “pre-summit” including Trump, Vance, Zelenskyy, and leaders from the U.K., France, Finland, Poland, and Italy — one hopes that the latter is Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni herself, likely the most consequential European leader at present. One also hopes that the Finns and the Poles will properly represent their Baltic neighbors, whose stake in the outcome of any Ukraine “deal” is huge. ….

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