Trump-Putin meeting: talks about Ukraine and energy summit scenes

On 15 August, in Alaska's largest city, a long-awaited meeting between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin took place. Although the main topic of the talks was the war in Ukraine, according to the Reuters agency, the economic question of both countries could also be raised behind closed doors.

Trump–Putin meeting in Alaska. In the background of icebreakers and LNG

The meeting was defined as a "high-rate summit", the main objective of which was to conclude a ceasefire agreement and end the bloodiest conflict Europe since World War II.

The talks were held at the JBER military base in Anchorage about the pedigree dating back to the Cold War. This is Trump and Putin's first direct meeting since the current president of the United States returned to the White House.

The main reason for the talks of the two most important leaders of the world was the situation in Ukraine, although the meeting unofficially nice to include also economic concerns of both countries. According to one of the sources of the Reuters agency, the use of Russian nuclear icebreakers was considered as one of the options for conversation in the US at the time of the LNG projects in Alaska. Sources reserved anonymity due to the sensitive nature of the findings. Neither the White House nor the Kremlin referred to this case.

Arctic as a field of competition: icebreakers, LNG and geostrategy

In the context of these reports, the Arctic dimension of potential cooperation is becoming increasingly important. It is impossible to overlook the fact that the Russian Federation currently has the world's only nuclear icebreaker fleet. These units allow year-round access to the Northern Maritime Road – a route of increasing importance for global trade and energy flows.

At the same time, the Trump administration intensifys efforts to strengthen the United States' position in the global LNG markets. A key element of this strategy is the Alaska LNG project, valued at $44 billion. The investment involves the construction of an 800-mile pipeline from the north side of the state to its southern coast, where the export terminal is to be established, as we wrote on the portal (text in number). The aim is to provide continuous supplies of liquefied gas to customers in East Asia and to create an alternative to Russian LNG supplies.

Qilak, Alaska LNG and Russian support? Still more questions than answers

Among the projects developed in Alaska, Qilak LNG is also mentioned, which aims to produce 4 million tonnes of LNG per year. Mead Treadwell, the originator of this project, admitted that the use of icebreakers of any country – if it had been approved by the U.S. government – would not be unusual. However, he pointed out that his company did not make such a request.

In turn, the industry source related to the Alaska LNG project reported that this particular project "has no identified needs for Russian icebreakers".

The Reuters Agency did not identify which gas projects could actually benefit from a possible agreement, if it actually occurred during the Alaska talks. The cited sources mentioned only the possible use of Russian icebreakers as logistical support – when transporting materials and construction equipment to the hard-to-access areas of Alaska, where weak infrastructure and harsh climate pose a serious challenge for such large investments. But this is just a hypothetical scenario, not a announced plan.

Red carpet and uncomfortable questions

Did the talks actually go as reported by the Reuters agency? We'll probably never know. The very form of the meeting – the official welcome of Vladimir Putin on the red carpet, despite the ongoing war in Ukraine and the accusations of war crimes – as well as the press conference, during which no specific declarations concerning the termination of the Russian invasion were made, leaves more questions than answers.

On the one hand, it is difficult to imagine real cooperation on LNG projects with a country which is widely covered zakrojonymi sankcjami, including in the energy sector. On the other hand, the very fact that such a concept was discussed internally in the White House and appeared in Reuters' accounts prompts reflection on what compromises can be considered in the name of economic and geopolitical interests. In this context, it cannot be excluded that backroom talks also concerned subjects that are not officially mentioned.

Written by Mariusz Dasiewicz