STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
President Trump says he's not done trying to end the war in Ukraine.
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PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: I'm interested in stopping a war where last week, 7,109 soldiers died, both Russian and Ukraine. Such a waste of life and humanity.
INSKEEP: We're not sure where the president got that exact number yesterday, although thousands and thousands and thousands have died in Ukraine. And that dying continues, despite the president's high-profile summit with Vladimir Putin, welcoming the Russian president in Alaska a few days ago. Since then, Russia has been slow-walking any potential peace deal and backing away from commitments that Trump claims they made. NPR's Russia correspondent, Charles Maynes, is following all this from Moscow. Hi there, Charles.
CHARLES MAYNES, BYLINE: Morning.
INSKEEP: So when you evaluate everything that's happened, has there been any measurable progress toward peace?
MAYNES: Well, you know, critics would say that Putin got a literal red-carpet reception in Alaska, and Trump got nothing in return - no ceasefire deal, no immediate concessions from Putin - all while backing off of threats of new sanctions. And yet, there were these hints by Trump and Putin in Alaska that a deal was in the offing. Key to that, Trump and his team said Putin had agreed to some form of Western security guarantees for Ukraine if robust enough - in other words, with the U.S. backing. The thinking here was that those protections could unlock a more sensitive issue for Ukraine - whether to accept territorial concessions as part of any peace deal, as Moscow is demanding. So, you know, in that line, Trump's gambit looked at least possible, even more so after Trump said Putin had agreed to meet with Zelenskyy and possibly Trump himself to finally hash out the terms, or so it seemed. It all seemed to hit a wall, a brick Kremlin wall, to be specific.
INSKEEP: I have been following this a little bit. It seems the Kremlin has reworded what they supposedly agreed to. What are their objections?
MAYNES: Well, you know, Russia's official line is that it supports Trump's peace efforts, but Moscow has repeatedly sought to slow them down, including this meeting between Putin and Zelenskyy. Russia's foreign minister, Sergey Lavrov, was on NBC's "Meet The Press" this weekend. Let's listen.
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SERGEY LAVROV: Putin is ready to meet with Zelenskyy when the agenda would be ready for a summit. And this agenda is not ready at all.
MAYNES: Now, Steve, Lavrov also rejected several proposals for Western security guarantees for Ukraine - for example, the presence of a European peacekeeping force - because Lavrov insists Russia should be part of any group providing security to Ukraine. That did not go over well in Kyiv, and that's now up to the U.S. and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, in particular, to try and come up with some other solutions that will satisfy all sides.
INSKEEP: What is Putin saying?
MAYNES: Well, he hasn't really talked about the Ukraine peace deal since Alaska. Instead, he's praised Trump, as he did during a recent visit to a nuclear research facility last week. Let's listen.
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PRESIDENT VLADIMIR PUTIN: (Speaking Russian).
MAYNES: So here, Putin says that ever since Trump's return to the White House, he's seen a light at the end of the tunnel in restoring relations with Washington, adding the two sides were already discussing joint projects in the Arctic and Alaska. And this has really been the Russian playbook when it comes to Trump - offering the prospect of lucrative deals or progress on bilateral issues, like arms control, rather than hinging the relationship on whether or not there's peace in Ukraine. Because fundamentally, Russia sees Trump as wanting to end the war but not so concerned about the fine print. You know, for example, where boundaries are ultimately drawn, that he would reject deals elsewhere. And that's something Moscow thinks it can play to its advantage as these negotiations and the war drag on.
INSKEEP: I'm just listening to your words there, Charles, quoting Putin, that Putin sees a light at the end of the tunnel in restoring relations with Washington, as opposed to bringing peace to Ukraine - different goals.
MAYNES: Absolutely different goals, and it seems that he's trying to bifurcate the two.
INSKEEP: NPR's Charles Maynes, thanks so much.
MAYNES: Thank you. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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