What's on the table 'Untapped economic potential' is lure for deal

When Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump meet in Alaska, the Russian president will set out to woo his US counterpart and dangle financial incentives for siding with Moscow over Ukraine.

- Pjotr Sauer

The hastily arranged summit at Putin's request will be his first invitation to meet a US president on US soil since he visited George W Bush in 2007. The surprise announcement caught Kyiv and its European allies off guard. For Putin, it signals a preliminary diplomatic victory: a face-to-face with Trump requiring no concessions, and a step towards his goal of deciding Ukraine's future.

Key to Putin's message today will be an appeal to Trump's business instincts. Yesterday, the Russian president's adviser, Yuri Ushakov, said the leaders would discuss the "huge untapped potential" in Russia-US economic relations.

"An exchange of views is expected on further developing bilateral cooperation, including in the trade and economic sphere," Ushakov said. "This cooperation has huge and unfortunately so far untapped potential."

Notably, alongside a cadre of veteran diplomats, Putin is bringing two prominent economic advisers. The inclusion of the finance minister, Anton Siluanov, is particularly notable: he has led Russia's response to western sanctions, the removal of which the Kremlin has consistently set as a key condition for any peace deal.

Analysts and insiders say the summit, convened after weeks of largely fruitless talks between Russia and Ukraine in Turkey, has been organised in too short a time to deliver any meaningful outcome. Russia's foreign ministry reiterated on Wednesday that Putin's conditions remained unchanged: the full withdrawal of Ukrainian forces from key regions and the renunciation of Kyiv's Nato ambitions. Kyiv has ruled out these demands from the outset.