Vladimir Putin remains determined to “revive the Soviet Union” by “destroying democracy next door”, Ukraine’s ambassador to Australia has said in the wake of the Russian president’s inconclusive meeting with the US president, Donald Trump.
Putin and Trump met for nearly three hours in Alaska, emerging to tell reporters that “great progress” had been made on a deal to end Russia’s war on Ukraine but that there was no peace agreement.
“There’s no deal until there’s a deal,” Trump said, saying he would brief Nato leaders and Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, on the meeting.
Putin, through an interpreter, said while he agreed Ukraine’s security should be guaranteed insisted the “root causes” of the conflict must be resolved.
Speaking to the ABC in the wake of the meeting, Ukraine’s ambassador to Australia Vasyl Myroshnychenko said the root cause of the conflict from Putin’s perspective was a sovereign, independent and democratic Ukraine.
“When Putin talks about the ‘root cause of war’, it’s an independent Ukraine on the map of Europe. That’s the only cause of war for Russia.
“He planned to take over Kyiv in several days, the entire Ukraine in several weeks … he is pursuing his ambition of destroying democracy next door.”
Putin had given no indication he was prepared to withdraw from his irredentist ambitions, Myroshnychenko said.
“Putin is just out there on his mission to revive the Soviet Union, to revive the Russian empire, and it can’t be revived without Ukraine. Just overnight, as we speak, Russians have attacked many Ukrainian cities, sent many drones. So we don’t really see any indication of him ending his war.”
Sign up: AU Breaking News email
Myroshnychenko said while it was a positive step that the meeting had taken place, a bilateral discussion – with only the US and Russia at the table – could not broker a sustainable peace.
“We welcome America’s involvement in this to make sure this war can end, but we understand it can’t end without Ukraine involved, without Europe involved … we can’t discuss the security of Europe without Europe at the table.”
In Anchorage, Alaska, Trump and Putin’s planned one-on-one meeting was replaced by a three-on-three meeting that also included US secretary of state Marco Rubio and Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff on the American side.
Alongside Putin was Russia’s foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, and foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov, a former ambassador to the US.
After the meeting, the two presidents addressed reporters but took no questions.
The Russian president spoke first, urging both countries to “turn the page” on their fraught relationship and “go back to cooperation”.
He said he and Trump had worked out “an understanding” but no final agreement and urged European leaders to “not throw a wrench in the works” and to “not use backroom dealings” to undermine the progress that had been made.
“I have every reason to believe that moving down this path we can come – and the sooner the better – to the end of the conflict in Ukraine.”
But Putin also insisted that the “root causes” of the conflict must be resolved. Those “root causes” have previously included demands for Ukraine’s formal renunciation of Nato membership as well as its “denazification” – an ill-defined set of demands that include the removal of Zelenskyy as president.
The US president, who spoke more briefly than Putin, described the meeting as “extremely productive”.
Trump warned: “There’s no deal until there’s a deal. I will call up Nato … I’ll, of course, call up [Ukraine’s] president Zelenskyy and tell him about today’s meeting. It’s ultimately up to them.”
The chair of the Australian Federation of Ukrainian Organisations, Kateryna Argyrou, said Putin went to Alaska with “nothing to offer except more war”.
“No ceasefire, no retreat from his maximalist demands … even as discussions were taking place, Russian missiles and drones were raining down on Ukrainian cities and towns.”
Argyrou said Putin only wanted Ukraine’s surrender, not peace. “His recycled propaganda about ‘root causes’ is simply code for denying Ukraine’s right to exist as a sovereign, independent nation – a denial made real through the devastation Ukrainians face every day.
“There can be no lasting peace until Russia faces the truth: Ukraine is a sovereign nation.”
Argyrou urged Australia to “stay united” with allies in backing Ukraine’s defence and enforcing sanctions against Russian figures.
