A Libyan writer; journalist, short story writer, novelist, and translator. He has published his articles and short stories in Libyan and Arab newspapers since the mid-1970s. He has several publications in short stories, essays, and one novel. He worked as a media advisor at the Libyan embassy in London.

The Russia-US bilateral summit in Alaska ended last Friday evening, with Presidents Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin leaving the meeting room optimistic about the possibility of reaching a solution to the crisis in the near future. This optimism was met with harsh criticism from Western leaders and media. President Trump, in particular, faced severe media criticism.

In my opinion, the meeting between the two presidents was exploratory, akin to throwing a stone into a stagnant and foul pond, hoping to open a door that had remained locked with several locks.

The European response to the summit results welcomed the bilateral summit and emphasized support for Ukraine and the necessity of security guarantees to prevent a repeat of a Russian invasion after reaching a ceasefire agreement. Britain, Germany, France, and Italy declared their support for the peace process, while Poland, the Czech Republic, and Norway warned of Putin’s intentions. The European Commission expressed the need for security guarantees to achieve lasting peace. It is important to note that Trump pledged to provide American security guarantees to Ukraine unrelated to NATO if Kyiv’s government accepted signing a peace agreement.

Preparations for the bilateral summit, based on British media reports, began last January. It became clear that the two presidents were in monthly telephone contact. In February, the foreign ministers of the two countries met in Riyadh. In April, the head of the Russian sovereign fund, Kirill Dmitriev, met in Washington with the US president’s special envoy Steve Witkoff. During this period, the US president was in contact with the President of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko. Reports add that President Trump’s last phone calls were with him last Friday before leaving for Alaska.

All this happened while battles continued on all war fronts. About two days before the Alaska summit, according to Western media reports, Russian forces managed to make a tactical breach in Ukrainian defenses in southern Donetsk and advanced about 10 kilometers. After the summit ended and before the US president’s plane arrived in Maryland, the media reported a Russian air raid involving 80 drones on three Ukrainian cities.

The Russian air raid provoked condemnation from European countries and suspicion about Moscow’s intentions, considering it the clearest indication of its unwillingness for peace. On the other hand, the Russian air raid is a repeated version of what happened in the 1970s during peace talks between US and Vietnam delegations in Paris. At that time, the US administration supported its delegation in negotiations by conducting one of the fiercest air raids to subdue the Vietnamese negotiating delegation. Therefore, the Russian air raid is not a Russian innovation.

During the press conference, Russian President Putin reiterated the necessity of addressing the crisis at its roots, taking all Russian interests into account, and respecting the balance of power. By the roots of the problem, the Russian president meant stopping Ukraine’s attempts to join NATO. By its interests, he meant affirming Russia’s rights over all Ukrainian territories occupied by his forces, whose inhabitants speak Russian. By respecting the balance of power, he meant respecting Russia’s historical spheres of influence according to the Yalta agreement.

President Trump strongly opposed Ukraine’s request to join the alliance and closed the doors to Ukraine, but European countries led by Britain, France, and Germany insist on Ukraine’s right as an independent state to sovereign decision-making, claiming that preventing it from doing so diminishes its independence and sovereignty!

Western commentators say President Trump wants everyone to read from the same page he holds, which is to stop the war and killing without addressing the causes of the war and Russia’s desire to subjugate Ukraine. All he cares about is enhancing his pursuit of the Nobel Peace Prize.

The gap in the wall that the Russian and American presidents opened with their meeting in Alaska turned overnight into a three-dimensional maze: what President Trump wants, met by the demands of President Putin, plus the reservations and fears of Ukraine and its European allies about the danger of Russian expansion in Ukraine with Washington’s blessing.

Peace agreements, unless supported by a final military victory, are subject to the principle of concessions from all related parties. Bad peace agreements usually lead to future wars. So far, the crisis parties have shown no indication of willingness to make concessions or the ability to resolve the matter on the battlefields. This has placed President Trump in a maze that may lead him to wash his hands of the matter altogether.