During the conversation, Putin made clear to Trump that the Anchorage agreements must be upheld: Vladimir Vasilyev

Vladimir Vasilyev, Chief Research Fellow at the Institute for US and Canadian Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, commented to Alpha News on the phone conversation between Vladimir Putin, President of Russia, and Donald Trump, his American colleague

“To speak briefly about the conversation that took place between the Russian president and the American president in connection with the celebration of the 250th anniversary of the founding of the US, I must say that, from my point of view, this call contained more of a diplomatic, protocol-related part than a substantive one. In effect, the Russian side made clear that, despite statements suggesting America is moving away from the agreements reached in Anchorage, these agreements remain in force. As far as one could tell, the American side was told that it would be good if it upheld these agreements. The Russian side emphasized the factor of long-term peace. That is, today the conversation should not be about some temporary agreement, a truce, but specifically about a long-term settlement,” Vasilyev said.

According to the expert, the current domestic political situation in the US and the approaching elections do not allow Donald Trump to secure a long-term peace agreement, so the prospects for a lasting settlement remain limited.

“At present, the domestic political situation in the United States, ahead of the elections, is such that Trump cannot secure any long-term agreement for us for domestic political reasons. Even if a year ago, during the meeting in Anchorage, he wanted this and made clear that he genuinely favored a lasting peace, believing he wanted to go down in history as a peacemaker, today such a long-term peace is hardly possible,” Vasilyev concluded.