From the Anchorage Summit, which opened an unexpected channel, to the Washington meeting with European leaders, global diplomacy is coming back to life. The world is watching to see whether peace is truly possible.

An unexpected glimmer of hope has opened in recent days in the Russia-Ukraine crisis, thanks to intense diplomatic activity that has rekindled hopes for a negotiated solution. At the center of this new phase is United States President Donald Trump, whose mediation, begun with a private meeting in Alaska, culminated in the crucial high-profile summit held yesterday in Washington.

The genesis of the breakthrough: the Anchorage meeting

The first sign of change came from the "Anchorage Summit", held last Friday, August 15, at a military installation in Alaska. At this meeting, US President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin met face-to-face for the first time since Trump's return to the White House. The first leaks, confirmed also by the release of some photographs, painted a picture of direct and frank talks. The aim was to break the deadlock and open a direct channel of communication between Moscow and Kiev, mediated by Washington. The absence of a joint press release left the world waiting, but the subsequent, frantic sequence of events made it clear that the meeting had not been in vain.

A decisive summit in Washington: Europe and Zelensky at the table

Just two days after the summit in Alaska, the White House hosted a crucially important meeting that brought together President Trump, his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky and leading European leaders, including German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, French President Macron, and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. 

Zelensky, who arrived in Washington as early as August 17, welcomed Trump's initiative, calling the meeting a "fundamental conversation". The main topic was the security guarantees that Ukraine could obtain in a future peace agreement. Chancellor Merz and other European leaders strongly reiterated that "no territorial concession can be imposed on Kiev", a point that remains the main obstacle to peace.

During the Washington summit, in a moment of major media impact, Trump paused the talks for a phone call with Putin. After the conversation, the US President announced that Putin had said he was "ready to meet  Zelensky". This marked a decisive step forward, the first of its kind since the start of the conflict.

The next challenges: the difficult path toward the final summit

The leaders' willingness to meet marks a turning point, but the road to a lasting agreement is still long and winding. The Russian President confirmed, through his Foreign Minister Serghei Lavrov, his readiness for "any bilateral or trilateral meeting", but also reiterated that peace will only be possible with "respect for Russia's security interests".

Work is now underway to organize a one-on-one summit, likely by the end of August and mediated by Trump, to formalize a peace agreement. However, many knots remain to be untied. Moscow continues to insist on recognition of the "new territorial realities" and an end to Western military support for Ukraine. Kiev, backed by its allies, does not intend to give up a single centimeter of its territory. Diplomacy thus finds itself navigating a sea of difficult compromises, with the risk that even the most promising of summits could founder. The entire world waits with bated breath for the outcome of this crucial negotiating process, which could mark the end of one of the most tragic pages in recent European history—or, on the contrary, the umpteenth and dangerous escalation everyone fears.