Donald Trump is set to meet with Vladimir Putin at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage on Friday. This will be the first time a U.S. president has met with their Russian counterpart since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022. The meeting comes after Trump’s adviser Steve Witkoff traveled to Moscow last week to meet with Putin.
The summit was put together very quickly. Witkoff returned from Moscow, talked to Trump, and they announced the meeting just days later. This speed has raised questions about what really happened during Witkoff’s trip to Russia.
According to Express, former US National Security Adviser John Bolton believes that a “basic mistake” by Witkoff may have caused problems for Trump’s peace plans. Bolton suggested that Witkoff does not fully understand the situation in Ukraine and Russian history. This lack of knowledge may have led to a serious misunderstanding during his Moscow visit.
A key misunderstanding may have complicated peace talks
Bolton explained that Witkoff may have thought Putin was offering to pull Russian forces out of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions. However, Putin was actually telling Ukraine to pull out of these areas because Russia now considers them Russian territory. This is something Ukraine will never agree to do.
The former National Security Adviser called this “a pretty basic mistake.” He questioned whether Witkoff knows which provinces Russia has occupied in Ukraine. This misunderstanding could make it much harder for Trump to broker any kind of peace deal.
Trump’s presidency has already faced challenges in foreign policy matters. The Ukraine situation adds another layer of complexity to his administration’s diplomatic efforts. Bolton’s concerns about the adviser’s understanding of the conflict highlight the importance of having knowledgeable staff in key positions.
Trump has said he believes both Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will make peace. Speaking from the Oval Office, he said the meeting aims to bring peace to Ukraine and “save a lot of lives.” However, with Zelensky unlikely to attend the Friday meeting, Trump has admitted it may not be possible to strike a deal right away. He claims he will know “within two minutes” if a deal is possible.
The President plans to hold a second meeting that would include both Putin and Zelensky, possibly with some European leaders. This suggests he sees the Friday meeting as just the first step in a longer process. However, Trump’s track record with keeping promises has been mixed, raising questions about whether these ambitious peace plans will actually happen.
Bolton’s assessment suggests that the fundamental misunderstanding about what Putin was actually proposing could derail the entire peace process before it even begins. If Witkoff truly misread Putin’s position on the occupied territories, it shows a lack of preparation that could prove costly.
The speed with which this summit was arranged is “unprecedented,” according to Bolton. This rushed timeline, combined with what appears to be a basic misunderstanding of Russian demands, suggests that Trump’s foreign policy approach may not be as carefully planned as his administration claims.
The stakes could not be higher. The war in Ukraine has cost thousands of lives and caused massive destruction. Any peace efforts need to be based on an accurate understanding of what each side is actually willing to accept. If Bolton is right about Witkoff’s mistake, it could mean that Trump’s peace plan was built on false assumptions from the very start.
Published: Aug 15, 2025 09:03 am