Two months after a smiling Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin shook hands at a military base in Alaska in what looked like the start of a U.S.-Russia rapprochement, a top Russian diplomat has raised doubts that the "spirit of Alaska" is still alive.
For Russia, the Anchorage summit on Aug. 15 had two goals: to persuade the U.S. president to lean on Ukraine and Europe to agree to a peace settlement favorable to Moscow, and to encourage a rapprochement in U.S.-Russia ties.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said this week there had been scant progress on either front and "powerful momentum" had been lost. Moscow had signaled it was ready to rebuild ties but Washington had not reciprocated, he said.
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