No strategy, no concessions: Former U.S. ambassador warns Trump Putin Summit already a win for Moscow

THE INTERVIEW| Former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine: Trump-Putin Summit ?A Win for Putin?

Former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Bridget Brink spoke with Hilary Golston, warning that the upcoming Trump-Putin meeting is unfolding without a clear U.S. strategy. Brink said that effective diplomacy begins with defined goals and resources, but that?s missing here. She added that because Putin has offered no concessions?not even a ceasefire?the meeting itself is already a mistake and a victory for Moscow.

(FOX 2) - Former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Bridget Brink is sounding the alarm over President Trump’s decision to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska, calling it a diplomatic misstep that hands Moscow leverage without extracting concessions.

In an interview with FOX 2's Hilary Golston, Brink said the summit reflects a troubling lack of preparation and purpose. "There just isn’t a strategy. Normally in diplomacy you want to think through what your goals are and then use a power and your resources to achieve them. That’s just not happening here," she said.

Brink, who resigned from her post earlier this year citing deep disagreements with the Trump administration’s approach to Ukraine, noted that the Kremlin had offered nothing in return for the high profile meeting. "There’s now a meeting with our President and with Putin and Putin has not offered any concessions including a ceasefire, so this is a big mistake and a win for Putin right from the beginning."

When asked by Golston what kind of concessions should be required, Brink was unequivocal. "First and foremost there needs to be a ceasefire. It’s hard to imagine how to end this war without the start of a ceasefire, which Ukraine has already agreed to. In general we need to know what it is we want to achieve. There are major consequences for the United States, for Europe, in how this war ends."

Brink added that Washington must keep its eye on the global stakes. "We should be focused on a result which helps ensure Ukraine’s freedom that also deters Russia from further aggression and that sends the right signal to China." Analysts note that Beijing is closely watching Western resolve in Ukraine as it weighs its own long term ambitions toward Taiwan.

The Alaska summit was framed by the White House as a chance to reset relations, but it ended without progress on halting the war. According to the Associated Press, the two leaders held a two and a half hour session, appeared together briefly, and left without answering questions. No ceasefire, prisoner exchange, or territorial deal was announced, only ceremonial gestures including a red carpet arrival and a military flyover.

Brink argued that this kind of high level engagement, absent conditions, risks repeating mistakes of past "peace at any price" diplomacy. "Peace at any price is not peace at all it’s appeasement," she said.

The former ambassador has deep ties to the region, having spent nearly three years in Kyiv during some of the most intense phases of the war. She is now running for Congress in Michigan’s 7th District as a Democrat, positioning herself as both a critic of Trump’s foreign policy and a defender of U.S. commitments abroad.

Golston also spoke with Michigan GOP chair Jim Runestad, who applauded the president’s effort and dismissed Brink’s criticism. "She’s a partisan hack… she’s a Democrat operative of course that’s what she’s going to say," Runestad said. "Trump has been doing a phenomenal job of bringing people together and solving problems and I think he’s going to do a great job at this meeting."

Brink maintains the risk of miscalculation is too high. She points out that the United States has already invested heavily in Ukraine’s defense. "We have given 105 billion dollars in assistance to Ukraine to help Ukraine defend itself. The EU has given more than the U.S. and it’s an investment. Half of the money that we gave in security assistance that’s 60 billion half went to replenish our own defense industrial base."