The President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, stated in an interview with Sky News that the summit in Alaska last month effectively helped Putin escape political isolation. He emphasized that if the meeting had been trilateral and included Ukraine, the outcome might have been different.
The information is based on Zelenskyy’s interview with Sky News, where the head of state openly shared his expectations and assessments of the event’s consequences. He also said, "he should have paid more," referring to the political and reputational accountability of the Kremlin for initiating the war.
"I believe that he (Putin) should have paid more. Specifically, he should have stepped back in this war. At least, stop," Zelenskyy noted.
Zelenskyy emphasized that Putin allegedly sought to "escape political isolation" through the summit and to gain a public platform alongside the US president. The head of Ukraine added that the photographs and public dialogue gave the Kremlin a chance to re-enter other negotiation formats, which in his view, is an undesirable outcome. In his speech, one can feel both disappointment and a desire for concrete actions from Western partners.