Putin’s ‘Peace’ Proposal Would Be a Prelude to More War

The best news to come out of the Alaska summit on Friday was that Donald Trump was reportedly so vexed by Vladimir Putin’s stubbornness that he was at one point “ready to walk away.” The worst news is that, in the end, he didn’t.

For those within the faction of the president’s movement whose foremost foreign policy goals seem to revolve around getting America out of the Ukraine-supporting business, the contours of a peace deal that emerged from the Anchorage summit must be depressing. At minimum, they commit the Trump administration to deeper involvement in the diplomatic process. Beyond that, the implementation of the terms with which Trump and Putin are toying would obligate “us” — the U.S. and its NATO allies — to deeper and more fraught commitments on the European continent.

About the Author

Noah Rothman

Noah Rothman is a senior writer at National Review. His third book, Blood and Progress: A Century of Left-Wing Violence, was published by Hachette in May 2026.

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The best news to come out of the Alaska summit on Friday was that Donald Trump was reportedly so vexed by Vladimir Putin’s stubbornness that he was at one point “ready to walk away.” The worst news is that, in the end, he didn’t.

For those within the faction of the president’s movement whose foremost foreign policy goals seem to revolve around getting America out of the Ukraine-supporting business, the contours of a peace deal that emerged from the Anchorage summit must be depressing. At minimum, they commit the Trump administration to deeper involvement in the diplomatic process. Beyond that, the implementation of the terms with which Trump and Putin are toying would obligate “us” — the U.S. and its NATO allies — to deeper and more fraught commitments on the European continent.

About the Author

Noah Rothman

Noah Rothman is a senior writer at National Review. His third book, Blood and Progress: A Century of Left-Wing Violence, was published by Hachette in May 2026.