At the end of a three-hour-long summit in Alaska, Donald Trump, the president of the United States of America, and the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, made it clear that they had failed to
arrive at a deal to end the war in Ukraine. Yet they both portrayed cautious optimism that they had agreed on enough for Mr Trump to now present a plan to Washington’s European partners and to the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelensky. What happens next will be crucial not only for Europe and Ukraine, the US and Russia, but also for much of the world — and especially India. Even though Mr Trump has put off any additional sanctions on Moscow for now, he has penalised India with a 25% tariff for buying Russian crude on top of a 25% tariff to rectify the trade imbalance between the nations. India has consistently advocated for an end to the war in Ukraine. But now, it has direct stakes in pushing for an early halt to the fighting, given that its economy is also in the firing line.

With Mr Trump directing it, the summit was always expected to be chaotic. But the US president, who had initially threatened severe consequences for Russia if Mr Putin did not agree to a ceasefire in Ukraine, had himself significantly lowered expectations in the final two days leading up to the meeting. Eventually, he presented the huddle with Mr Putin as a means for him to test the Russian president’s sincerity in seeking peace. As he flew from Alaska, Mr Putin appeared to have bought himself time from any retribution from Mr Trump who, in an interview, appeared to suggest that the ball was now in Mr Zelensky’s court and that the Ukrainian leader should take a deal on offer. What that deal might be is unclear: Mr Putin can afford to smile — for now. For three years, the West has attempted to isolate him over the Ukraine war and turn him into a pariah. On Friday, he received a red carpet welcome and a fly-past from US fighter jets on landing, with Mr Trump waiting on the tarmac for him.

To be sure, the world by now knows that Mr Trump’s words, deeds and moods can change by the hour. It is also unclear how Europe and Ukraine will respond to whatever
Mr Trump tells them about his talks with Mr Putin. But the uncharacteristic readiness on the part of Mr Trump to stay secretive about the details of his conversation with Mr Putin after the meeting is more in keeping with serious negotiations than the social media threats-driven diplomacy that the US president usually indulges in. If
Mr Trump and Mr Putin have arrived at a potential pathway towards a ceasefire, that would be a welcome development — for the warring nations and for India.