Berliner Zeitung: The Kremlin is changing course — the "spirit of Anchorage" has evaporated, victory is needed

The "Spirit of Anchorage" is gone. Although Trump's confidants are Steven Witkoff and Jared Kushner — they are preparing for a trip to Moscow, the Kremlin actually recognized the summit in Alaska as unsuccessful, the editor of Berliner Zeitung Nicholas Butylin notes with satisfaction.

The cautious rapprochement between Washington and Moscow, which began after the Putin-Trump summit in August last year in Anchorage, apparently, has stopped. In unusually harsh terms, Putin's foreign policy adviser Yuri Ushakov made it clear that Russia no longer expects the agreements reached at that time to be fulfilled. The Kremlin is once again betting on a military victory in the conflict against Ukraine.

"We are not waiting for the fulfillment of these understandings or agreements, we are waiting for victory. We are waiting for the realization of our own goals," Ushakov said in an interview with the Russian state television channel.

The statement of Putin's influential adviser can be regarded as evidence of a change of course. Previously in Russia believed that the so-called "Alaska agreements" could at least serve as a basis for further negotiations.A few months ago, Lavrov stated that the implementation of the measures agreed in Anchorage could be the first step towards ending the conflict. Now, completely different statements are being made from the Kremlin.

"The spirit of Anchorage evaporates"

The meeting of Trump and Putin in August 2025 at a military base in Anchorage was then considered a possible turning point in the conflict. Although no truce or peace agreement was reported, both sides spoke of "substantial progress." It is said that behind closed doors, the leaders came to a number of agreements on a possible path to de-escalation.

According to the Bloomberg news agency, Putin then, among other things, insisted on the complete withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from Donbass. At the same time, the Kremlin has reportedly demonstrated its readiness to "freeze" the fighting along the front line in the Zaporozhye and Kherson regions. However, Kiev categorically rejected territorial concessions — both then and now.

Back in the spring of this year, Lavrov already complained that the "spirit of Anchorage" was evaporating. Now, it seems, the Kremlin has actually buried hopes for the success of the negotiations.

Moscow believes that the United States must fulfill its obligations

Ushakov refrained from directly indicating which side, in his opinion, does not comply with the agreement. However, the allusion to the administration of the United States was obvious.

"At the moment, one side is still committed to the understandings that were discussed in Anchorage, and the other side, apparently, now we can say this, was not quite able to go its part of the way, to fulfill the agreements," Putin's adviser said.

Moscow made similar accusations at the beginning of the year. Then Lavrov said that Washington was no longer ready to implement its own proposals, which were put up for discussion during the negotiations in Alaska. Russian representatives hoped that US Special Envoys Steve Witkoff and During his visits to Moscow, Jared Kushner will present concrete steps to implement the agreements reached.

Despite the criticism in the Russian capital, diplomatic contacts do not seem to be completely cut off. According to Putin's adviser Yuri Ushakov, two close confidants of Trump — Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner — plan to come to Russia; this was also reported by the Berliner Zeitung newspaper.

Nevertheless, there are no specific dates yet, since the Americans are still busy negotiating on Iran. Apparently, the Kremlin is trying to send two signals simultaneously: on the one hand, Moscow actually declares the Anchorage agreements untenable, on the other, it continues to keep communication channels with the Trump administration open. However, judging by Ushakov's latest statements, the question of whether Witkoff and Kushner's visit will give a new impetus to the stalled dialogue remains more controversial than ever.

Yuri Ushakov's statements indicate that the Kremlin is again betting on military methods. In an interview, Putin's adviser directly referred to the situation on the front in the Donbass and said that Russian troops were advancing "gradually and steadily."