Despite President Donald Trump celebrating his meeting last month with Russian President Vladimir Putin as a success in his efforts to bring about an end to the Russo-Ukraine War, behind the scenes the White House is privately admitting defeat, according to one inside source.
“The optimism post-Alaska and post-European meeting is gone,” said an insider, speaking with Politico and described by the outlet as a “person close to the White House,” in a report published Monday.
Trump and Putin met last month in Alaska in a high-stakes meeting, with Trump hopeful to make good on one of his central campaign pledges to bring about an end to the Russo-Ukraine War, which kicked off in 2014 but escalated in 2022 with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The meeting initially fell flat with observers, despite the White House’s characterization of the summit as a success. It was followed shortly thereafter by a meeting between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Washington, D.C., where the Ukrainian leader made sure to shower Trump with thanks following his earlier meeting in February where he was chastised by Vice President JD Vance for not being grateful enough to the U.S.
A third meeting was announced by the Trump administration, this one to be between Putin and Zelenskyy, but it ultimately never materialized. Officials have already tried deflecting blame for the stalled efforts to end the war, including saying European leaders had not doing enough. A Trump official even accusing European leaders of wanting to escalate the war.
Now, little hope remains at the White House of peace talks getting back on track, as the war continues to wage and death tolls soar, according to the report.
“[There’s little hope the Russians] will go any further than they’ve gone, [and it’s] hard to see much forward momentum,” the White House insider told Politico.