Alaska summit: High on theatre but telling all the same

It affirmed Trump's policy inconstancy and justified the path that Modi has set for India

- SRINATH SRIDHARAN

Alaska was a distant geography to most of us—until last Friday. Now, it is the theatre. A stage for superpowers to feed their egos. Alaska was once Russian, but has been American since 1867.

America's northern-most state holds symbolism as a reminder of the two countries being neighbours, no doubt, but its choice as a summit venue seemed calculated to flatter US President Donald Trump's peace ambitions, while giving Russian President Vladimir Putin a platform to play the statesman.

Their 15 August meeting was portrayed as a serious attempt to end the Ukraine War, but it revealed itself as a show designed to massage Trump's ego that ended up showing Putin's ability to get his way.

Trump emerged from the Alaska summit to declare there was "no deal until there's a deal." Putin, with deliberate ambiguity, claimed an "understanding" had been reached. Both statements said more about the men themselves than about the fate of war-ravaged Ukraine.

For Trump, hedging is a way of keeping the drama alive, prolonging his appearance as a central actor in the pursuit of world peace. For Putin, the summit signalled progress without committing to anything substantive. It was a textbook example of show and not-tell, where stagecraft mattered more than outcomes.

That the psychology of their exchange has been a matter of speculation is not a surprise. Trump has long admired Putin, once calling him a genius after Russia's invasion of Ukraine. In return, Putin walked away without making concessions, while planting the idea of a subsequent meeting to be held in Moscow—a bait Trump appeared to take.