ISTANBUL

Russian presidential aide Yuri Ushakov said Thursday that the momentum for a Ukrainian settlement between Russia and the US remains intact, insisting that the agreements reached by President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump in Alaska continue to be implemented.

Speaking to the media, Ushakov rejected claims that the impetus from the Anchorage summit had faded.

“Any statements about the momentum of Anchorage fading or that it has been exhausted are completely incorrect,” he said, as cited by the Russian state-run Tass news agency.

“We continue to work with the Americans based on what was agreed upon between the presidents in Anchorage.”

He added that “some forces” dislike the agreements because they do not want a solution to the conflict, but emphasized that Moscow and Washington maintain contacts under the framework established during the meeting.

However, earlier, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov said the momentum from the Alaska meeting had been “largely exhausted” due to what he called “destructive activity” by European countries.

Putin and Trump held a three-hour closed-door meeting in Alaska’s largest city, Anchorage, on Aug. 15, marking the first face-to-face negotiations between sitting Russian and US presidents since the start of the Ukraine war.

Initial reactions from the US and Russia were positive, but apparent disagreements over land swaps and Ukrainian security guarantees with Europe did not allow for a peace deal to end the war that has continued since February 2022.

Trump later called Russia a "paper tiger" and mulled supplying Ukraine with the long-range Tomahawk missile to strike deep inside Russia.