Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed at length figures from medieval and early modern history during his August meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump, the Financial Times (FT) reported on Oct. 17, citing undisclosed sources.
Putin reportedly gave a lengthy lecture on medieval Rus princes, such as Rurik or Yaroslav the Wise, as well as the 17th-century Cossack leader Bohdan Khmelnytskyi, taking Trump aback.
The Russian leader has often invoked Ukrainian and Russian history to justify aggression against Ukraine, like during his interview with U.S. host Tucker Carlson last year.
The FT reported that Trump nearly walked out of the Aug. 15 summit in Anchorage after Putin rejected a ceasefire deal and demanded that Ukraine cede more territory.
The outlet described the prematurely concluded meeting as a "turning point," after which Trump's position began to shift in favor of Ukraine.
Publicly, Trump described the Anchorage summit as a "very warm meeting" and planned to follow it up with direct talks between Zelensky and Putin. No announcements on the matter have been made since then.
Since August, the Trump administration has approved fresh military aid to Ukraine funded by NATO allies and threatened to increase economic pressure on Moscow — if European partners follow suit.
The U.S. president is set to meet Zelensky in the White House on Oct. 17, during which the Ukrainian leader is expected to press him on possible deliveries of Tomahawk missiles.
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