Not a word and not a single initiative. One week after being received with great pomp by Donald Trump in Anchorage, Alaska, on August 15, Vladimir Putin still had not publicly given any positive follow-up to the summit, which was meant to launch a peace process in Ukraine.

Since then, the US president has made a series of paradoxical statements. On Monday, August 18, he hosted his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelensky, at the White House, along with top European leaders. On both sides of the Atlantic, possible concessions and propositions to Moscow have fueled debate. The Kremlin leader, meanwhile, has remained silent.

While enjoying this diplomatic rehabilitation, Putin has not budged from his demands, nor has he made any significant compromises. His priority is gaining both Washington's trust and time on the battlefield. He has maintained his relationship with Trump and avoided new sanctions. As he has done so often before, he's played on divisions among Western allies to sow confusion. He claimed to be working for peace with the United States in order to better shift responsibility for a possible failure onto the European Union.

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