Overview

• At the Valdai forum, Putin said the Alaska meeting focused solely on ways to resolve the Ukrainian crisis and described Trump as a comfortable interlocutor who listened attentively.
• He added that Russia is prepared to continue the discussion on Ukraine and called the very fact of the meeting a sign toward restoring ties, while noting bilateral issues were not discussed.
• Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Trump’s efforts to seek a Ukraine settlement are important and that Moscow is closely analyzing his statements.
• The Wall Street Journal reported that Trump authorized U.S. intelligence support for Ukrainian strikes inside Russia and is considering long‑range missiles such as Tomahawk and Barracuda, and the White House schedule listed a closed intelligence briefing for Thursday.
• Trump announced a meeting with China’s Xi Jinping in four weeks with soy exports as a key topic, and Nikkei Asia reported possible meetings with India’s Narendra Modi in Malaysia and a potential DMZ encounter with North Korea’s Kim Jong Un.