Dem Senator Chris Murphy says Trump’s 'disastrous' Alaska summit gave Putin 'everything he wanted'

WASHINGTON, DC: Democratic Senator Chris Murphy called President Donald Trump’s Alaska summit with Vladimir Putin a "disaster" on Sunday, August 17, blaming the POTUS for legitimizing the Russian leader in front of the world.

During an interview with NBC’s 'Meet the Press,' Murphy said that Trump was forced to abandon his call for a ceasefire during the meeting and was also unable to convince Putin to drop demands for Ukraine to cede more territory. 

Chris Murphy says Alaska summit was an 'embarrassment for the US'

Chris Murphy, the ranking Democratic member of the Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on European Security Cooperation, told the media outlet, "That meeting was a disaster. It was an embarrassment for the United States. It was a failure. Putin got everything he wanted."

"He wanted to be absolved of his war crimes in front of the world. He was invited to the United States, war criminals are not normally invited to the United States of America," he added.

He further said that Trump "walked out of that meeting saying, 'I didn't get a ceasefire. I didn't get a peace deal. And I'm not even considering sanctions.' And so Putin walks away with his photo op, with zero commitments made, and zero consequences. What a great day for Russia," Murphy added.

He made the comments as two top Trump officials, who traveled with the POTUS to Alaska for the summit, Marco Rubio and Steve Witkoff, appeared on separate Sunday morning shows defending the outcome of Trump’s meeting with Putin.

Witkoff told CNN’s 'State of the Union' on August 17 that the US secured what he claimed was a "game-changing" development in the discussions — Putin’s willingness to consider accepting a US security agreement protecting the future sovereignty of Ukraine’s borders.

He explained that this was the first time negotiators were able to gain ground on the issue.

He said, "We were able to win the following concession: That the United States could offer Article 5-like protection, which is one of the real reasons why Ukraine wants to be in NATO."

However, Witkoff did not specify if the security guarantee could lead to a promise to directly engage US troops in defense of Ukraine should Russia continue crossing Trump’s red lines.

Chris Murphy says security guarantee is essential for a peace agreement

Chris Murphy suggested that a security guarantee would be the bare minimum standard necessary for any peace agreement between Ukraine and Russia.

"That [security guarantee] is an essential element of a peace agreement because any commitment that Vladimir Putin makes to not invade Ukraine again isn't worth the paper that it's written on," he said.

The senator added, "He's made that commitment many times. So yes, there has to be a guarantee that if Putin were to enter Ukraine after a peace settlement, that there would be some force there, a US force, a US-European force there to defend Ukraine." 

He also criticized Trump over reports that Witkoff wouldn’t confirm when pressed by CNN’s Jake Tapper.

The reports indicated that the POTUS had shown his willingness to accept Russian demands for Ukraine to cede the entire occupied Donbas region as part of a potential agreement.

Murphy added that the reported development was "another sense that Putin is just in charge of these negotiations."

Trump is scheduled to meet with European leaders, including Finnish President Alexander Stubb, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, French President Emmanuel Macron, and the UK’s Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, on Monday, August 18.

Stubb, who is known for his relationship with Trump, could play a role in easing tensions between Trump and Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky, who will also be present.