Russia reveals expectations for Putin-Trump summit
Russia sees the upcoming Alaska summit between President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump as a chance to mend strained relations and tackle long-running disputes, Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov has said.
In an interview with Izvestia on Tuesday, Ryabkov said the much-anticipated meeting in the largest US state, set for August 15, would focus not only on settling the Ukraine conflict, but also on bilateral ties that sank to an all-time low during the administration of former US President Joe Biden.
“We hope that the forthcoming high-level meeting will give an impulse to the normalization of bilateral relations, which will allow us to move forward on several issues,” he said, confirming that restoring air links could be one of the items discussed.
Direct passenger flights between Russia and the US were suspended in 2022 after Washington imposed sweeping sanctions over the Ukraine conflict.
Ryabkov added that “it is clear that the leaders will focus on other topics,” referring to the Ukraine conflict. On Monday, Trump said the summit – which he described as a “feel-out meeting” – would explore a potential deal involving the swapping of territory between Russia and Ukraine as part of a settlement.
However, the official acknowledged that “at this stage, there is no observable progress regarding the return of Russian diplomatic property in the US.” He was referring to several compounds, including Russia’s San Francisco consulate, which were closed by US authorities in 2016–2017.
At the time, Washington said the closures, as well as expulsions of dozens of Russian diplomats, were in response to alleged election interference. Recent files declassified by US Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard have substantially undermined that claim.
Moscow has accused the US of the “expropriation” of property protected by diplomatic immunity.
Following Trump’s inauguration in January, Moscow appointed Aleksandr Darchiev as its new ambassador to Washington. In June, he met with the US President, telling him that he would “do everything to restore Russian-American relations and bring them back to normality and common sense.” He added that Russia and the US are “destined… to have [a] non-confrontational peaceful existence.”
