TrumPutin shake
© Pablo Martinez Monsivais/APThe announcement of a Trump-Putin meeting sparked a barrage of criticism from Biden-era supporters
As Presidents Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin prepare for a summit in Alaska on August 15, supporters of the old order are trying to sabotage it. There's no question of peace in Ukraine, Gaza, or elsewhere. War has given them power and fueled their industries. Alfredo Jalife, however, sees some hopeful situations:

Faced with the almost apocalyptic interview with Scott Ritter, former Marine and nuclear inspector in Iraq [ 1 ], I noted four situations which could constitute opportunities to calm heated tempers [ 2 ]:

1) Trump said it was appropriate to renew the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) which expires in February [ 3 ];

2) Trump announced that he was sending Steve Witkoff on a fact-checking and/or appeasement mission to the Kremlin. Steve Witkoff is in Gaza to end the starvation of the Palestinians. It would be absurd to worry about the grim situation there for the past 22 months and at the same time deploy 4 submarines (Scott Ritter dixit) near Russia;

3) Less exasperated, Trump said he deployed them in response to Medvedev's threat - a situation that Scott Ritter says was misinterpreted;

4) Fortunately, Foreign Ministers Sergei Lavrov and Marco Rubio maintained the dialogue [ 4 ].

Oilman Trump opted for a historic summit with his Russian counterpart Putin in Alaska on August 15 and declared that "the conflict in Ukraine could have been nuclear [ 5 ]." He declared that there would be "territorial swaps" in Ukraine [ 6 ], which caused more consternation within the European militarist coalition - led by Britain, France and Germany - than in Ukraine itself, where the majority of the population wants an end to the war.

As I mentioned in my interview with NegociosTV in Spain, the discreet but very effective work of Kirill Dmitriev, Putin's investment advisor, ensured that the meeting between Trump's envoy, Steve Witkoff, and the Kremlin tsar, in addition to the thorny Ukraine dispute, included the bilateral negotiation between the two nuclear superpowers and their joint investments from the Arctic to "rare earths" [ 7 ]. In this regard, Kirill Dimitriev revealed that, without a doubt, a number of countries interested in continuing the conflict will make titanic efforts to derail the summit through "provocations and disinformation [ 8 ]."

Yuri Ushakov, Putin's adviser and former Russian ambassador to Washington during Moscow's darkest period, explained why Alaska, a former Russian territory sold by ['to' sic] the United States to ['by' sic] Russia in 1867, was chosen as the venue for this historic summit. "It seems perfectly logical that our delegation simply crosses the Bering Strait [ 9 ]."

Kirill Dimitriiev pointed out that Alaska was the ideal location, as the United States and Russia are 2.4 miles (3.8 kilometers) apart between the Diomede Islands, separated by the International Date Line (one is yesterday and the other is tomorrow). "We are moving from yesterday to tomorrow for peace," he said. He added that "Alaska was born as a part of Russia in America, with strong Orthodox roots and a fur trade, which recalls these ties and makes the United States an Arctic country," partnering with Russia in the areas of infrastructure and energy [ 10 ].

Russia has the world's largest icebreaker fleet, currently in Arctic waters near Alaska [ 11 ], which has just been joined by an armada of 5 Chinese icebreakers [ 12 ]. Will the Russian and Chinese icebreakers have the capability to carry nuclear missiles? These are also geopolitical. None other than the mandarin Xi Jinping has welcomed contacts between Russia and the United States [ 13 ], perhaps in preparation for what I predicted as a likely geostrategic summit of a G-3 [ 14 ] on September 3 in Beijing between Xi/Putin/Trump.

The resurrection of the Russian-US Bering Strait tunnel project is likely to ease near-apocalyptic tensions - with their Obama clique fake Russiagate - and contribute to the prosperity of the largest nuclear superpowers in a harmonious environment [ 15 ].
About the Author:
Alfredo Jalife-Rahme is a professor of Political and Social Sciences at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM). Honorary Doctorate from the Pontifical University of San Francisco Xavier in Chuquisaca. He publishes columns on international politics in the daily newspaper La Jornada.
References:

[ 1 ] " Scott Ritter: Trump deploys Nuclear Subs to Russia over Social Media Rift ", Judge Napolitano - Judging Freedom, YouTube , August 2, 2025.

[ 2 ] " The nuclear submarines of Putin and the "mano muerta" of Medvedev that desesteemed Trump ", Alfredo Jalife-Rahme, La Jornada , 6 de agosto de 2025.

[ 3 ] " Trump says he wants to maintain nuclear limits with Russia ", Reuters , July 25, 2025

[ 4 ] " Trump coloca submarines nucleares "cerca" de Rusia por supuesta "amenaza" de Medvediev ", Alfredo Jalife-Rahme, La Jornada , 3 de agosto de 2025

[ 5 ] " Ukraine conflict could have become 'world war' - Trump ", RT, August 9, 2025.

[ 6 ] " European allies back Ukraine's borders after Donald Trump floats land swap with Russia ", Financial Times , August 10, 2025.

[ 7 ] " Putin no has cedido en lo esencial con Trump Ucrania en la NATO es inaceptable ", Alfredo Jalife, YouTube , 8 de agosto de 2025.

[ 8 ] " Moscow warns of 'titanic efforts' to disrupt Putin-Trump meeting ", Reuters , August 9, 2025

[ 9 ] " Kremlin confirms that Putin-Trump summit to take place in Alaska on August 15 ", Tass , August 9, 2025.

[ 10 ] " Alaska 'Perfect Stage' for Historic Russia-US Summit, Putin's Envoy Dmitriev Says ", Sputnik , August 9, 2025.

[ 11 ] " Russia Has The World's Largest Icebreaker Fleet ", Anna Fleck, Statista , Jan 24, 2025.

[ 12 ] " Unprecedented Chinese Icebreaker Deployment Off Alaska Being Monitored By US ", Howard Altman, TWZ , August 8, 2025

[ 13 ] " China happy with Russia, US maintaining contacts — Xi Jinping ", Tass , August 8, 2025.

[ 14 ] "Detrás de la "Cumbre Histórica" de Trump y Putin: ¿Hacia el G-3 con China? », Alfredo Jalife, YouTube , August 8, 2025.

[ 15 ] " Experts Extol the Merits of Bering Strait Tunnel Project ," Universal Peace Federation , May 21, 2024.
About the Author:
Alfredo Jalife-Rahme is a professor of Political and Social Sciences at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM). Honorary Doctorate from the Pontifical University of San Francisco Xavier in Chuquisaca. He publishes columns on international politics in the daily newspaper La Jornada.