ISTANBUL

Russia on Wednesday said the momentum to reach a peace deal in Ukraine, which emerged after a summit in Alaska between Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump earlier this year, is “largely exhausted.”

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 cast Russia as a "paper tiger" and has mulled supplying Ukraine with the long-range Tomahawk missile to strike deep inside Russia.

“Unfortunately, it must be acknowledged that the powerful impetus of Anchorage in favor of agreements has been largely exhausted by the efforts of opponents and the efforts of supporters of the war to the last Ukrainian among Europeans,” Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov told reporters, according to state news agency RIA.

“This is the result of destructive activity, primarily by Europeans, which we speak about openly and directly,” Ryabkov added.

Regarding the New START Treaty over nuclear arms reduction, Ryabkov said the US has yet to respond to Putin’s proposal to voluntarily maintain the 2011 deal’s central limits for a year beyond its expiration on Feb. 6, 2026.

He said this is strictly on the condition that the US “does not take any measures during this year that could undermine the existing parity and balance in the area of ​​strategic stability.”

On Sunday, Trump appeared to support Russia’s proposal in remarks to journalists, saying: “Sounds like a good idea to me.”

Ryabkov also said periodic contacts ensue between Russia and the US with regards to prisoner exchanges, but that there is “no movement” toward a peace deal.

On the issue of Tomahawk cruise missile deliveries to Ukraine, he urged the US leadership and military to approach the matter “soberly, sensibly, and responsibly.”

He reaffirmed that the potential use of Tomahawk missiles can only be possible with the direct involvement of American personnel. “I hope that those pushing Washington to make this decision are well aware of the depth and gravity of the consequences.”

He said Russia will respond to any potential travel restrictions for Russian diplomats across the EU with similar restrictions.

The Financial Times reported on Tuesday that EU countries agreed to limit the movement of Russian diplomats within the 27-member bloc over what it described as a “surge in sabotage attempts that intelligence agencies say are often led by spies operating under diplomatic cover.”

According to the report, the proposed initiative, led by the Czech Republic, will force Russian diplomats based in EU capitals to inform authorities in the country they wish to travel of their plans beforehand.