World in flux: The Alaska summit was high theatre but also highly revealing

America’s northern-most state holds symbolism as a reminder of the two countries being neighbours, no doubt, but its choice as a summit venue  seemed calculated to flatter US President Donald Trump’s peace ambitions, while giving Russian President Vladimir Putin a platform to play the statesman. Their 15 August meeting was portrayed as a serious attempt to end the Ukraine War, but it revealed itself as a show designed to massage Trump’s ego that ended up showing Putin’s ability to get his way.

Trump emerged from the Alaska summit to declare there was “no deal until there’s a deal." Putin, with deliberate ambiguity, claimed an “understanding" had been reached. Both statements said more about the men themselves than about the fate of war-ravaged Ukraine.

Also Read: Alaska summit: There is no peace until both sides see it as fair

For Trump, hedging is a way of keeping the drama alive, prolonging his appearance as a central actor in the pursuit of world peace. For Putin, the summit signalled progress without committing to anything substantive. It was a textbook example of show and not-tell, where stagecraft mattered more than outcomes.

That the psychology of their exchange has been a matter of speculation is not a surprise. Trump has long admired Putin, once calling him a genius after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. In return, Putin walked away without making concessions, while planting the idea of a subsequent meeting to be held in Moscow—a bait Trump appeared to take.

The tragedy is that when global governance is reduced to this, the costs are borne by nations fighting for their sovereignty and by allies that must navigate uncertainty. The Anchorage summit did not end the war in Ukraine, but whether the map of Europe will be redrawn remains an anxiety across the continent.

Also Read: Putin, Trump, and a summit that ended in stalemate

Putin seems to understand this better than anyone. He played with a calm hand, flattering Trump just enough, and left with the aura of America’s peer as a peacemaker. Trump, for his part, may have left with  illusions of global kingship intact.

For India, the spectacle is instructive. Trump’s brand of statecraft is neither strategic nor stable. It is transactional and self-referential. He has wielded tariffs as weapon against partners, disregarding decades of carefully built relationships. We have seen this up close, as Washington under Trump has threatened to levy punitive import duties on Indian goods, linking them to India’s energy trade with Russia. Such moves  amount to American infringement of another nation’s sovereign rights and New Delhi has done well to hold its ground.

Also Read: India-US standoff over Russian oil: Let’s not waver but resolve it

Much of the criticism aimed at Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s handling of ties with the US under Trump overlooks a central truth. The US leader is not a statesman to be engaged through conventional playbooks, but an improviser who bends every encounter to suit his theatrical script. No ally or adversary has managed a steady equation with him: not Europe, being tested over Nato, nor East Asia, which must live with his swings of bluster and retreat.

India has pursued a resilient path. The government’s rejection of Trump’s repeated claims of having brokered a ceasefire in the India-Pakistan skirmish this summer was a measure of sober statesmanship. Enduring the short-term pain of US sanctions, if need be, is a reaffirmation of our sovereign choice. Such moments, uncomfortable though they may be, forge a deeper sense of national pride, drive the pursuit of global relevance and reinforce the imperative of self-sufficiency in strategic domains.

Also Read: How Trump can win at the Alaska summit

Articulating that ethos, the Prime Minister’s Independence Day address last week delivered a firm reminder that India would rather endure short-term pain than surrender its sovereignty or be subservient to the foolhardy whims of other nations. 

From the Red Fort, his 103-minute speech affirmed that self-reliance and indigenous strength are the bedrock of our national dignity. He announced that by the end of 2025, Made-in-India semiconductor chips would enter the market, augmenting technological sovereignty. 

He spoke of India’s National Critical Minerals Mission, covering over 1,200 sites, to secure essential resources for strategic industries. In the realm of national defence, he unveiled Mission Sudarshan Chakra and highlighted Operation Sindoor as evidence that India’s security does not hinge on external actors. And he reiterated that self-reliance extends beyond trade to digital platforms, space, clean energy, and economic reforms—all aimed at crafting a sovereign and resilient India that is prepared to bear costs without bowing to external pressure. 

This steadiness is precisely what allies and adversaries alike must recognize, that India does not mortgage long-term relationships to vanity or whim.

India’s enduring rapport with Russia amid Moscow’s own growing closeness to China and America’s recently signalled tilt towards Pakistan places New Delhi at the crossroads of a fast transforming global order. The upcoming summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization will test India’s art of multilateral engagement, even as New Delhi tentatively seeks to fix a fraught relationship with Beijing, exploring ways to turn rivalry into calibrated cooperation. The world is on the cusp of a new balance, with its ‘unipolar’ moment fading into the annals of history.

The author is a corporate advisor and author of ‘Family and Dhanda’