India, Aug. 18 -- It was a meeting of the two titans. On the morning of August 15, Russian president Vladimir Putin landed at Anchorage Airport in Alaska. US president Donald Trump stood on the carpet awaiting his guest's arrival, and Putin, alighting from the plane, set the tone and tempo for the summit with his "dear neighbour". So far, Trump hasn't accorded the honour of a personal welcome to even any of his Western allies. Many started drawing positive conclusions about the summit from the body language of the two leaders. But the Alaska summit, of which expectations had been high, failed to reach a conclusion and has left behind a fog of new concerns. There's a host of reasons for such a conclusion. The summit was expected to last for five to six hours, but it ended within three hours. A day earlier, Trump had said he wouldn't be happy if a ceasefire (in the Ukraine war) didn't materialise from the summit. He had even threatened Russia with harsher sanctions if there was no ceasefire. However, his threats proved ineffective. During the press conference, he grudgingly accepted that while they made some progress, many important issues remained unresolved. Putin said he hoped both the countries could work together on key concerns. The summit should be seen as a diplomatic thaw with little concrete outcomes. At most, Alaska can pave the way for another discussion. Trump said as much when he announced that he would be talking to the Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky and Nato allies to fix a date and venue for further talks. In an interview to Fox News just before the summit, Trump hinted that now it's up to Zelensky to take a call on the future of his nation. Could Zelensky end up isolated? Remember how Trump and his deputy, JD Vance, bullied Zelensky in full media glare at the White House? Experts argue that last year in Istanbul, Turkey, Russia and Ukraine were on the verge of a deal but Zelensky stopped short of it on the assurance of full US support. Ukraine is surviving with the help of European nations, but as the conflict slides into an endless morass, Europe will find it difficult to keep supporting. Putin understands this and is in no hurry for peace. During the Alaska summit, Trump interestingly seemed to have controlled his usual urge to hog the limelight by offering the opening address to Putin. In a 12-minute presser, Putin spoke for a little over eight minutes while Trump took less than four minutes. He ended in his characteristic style saying, "Vladimir, I hope we meet soon". Not missing the opportunity, Putin quickly replied in English: "This time, in Moscow". The statement caught Trump off guard. No media questions were allowed. It was clear both the leaders did not have much to say. The summit did not reach any conclusion because Putin isn't budging from his four core demands: A large portion of land annexed by Russia from Ukraine be recognised as Russian territory; annexed Crimea be recognised similarly; immediate ban on Nato's expansion; and urgent lifting of sanctions on Russia. Trump can neither accept these demands nor does he have the political capital to force Ukraine or his Western allies to accept these. Contrary to his claims, Trump is not bothered about lives being lost in Ukraine or in any conflict areas. His eyes are set on Ukrainian minerals and agricultural products, and he's wary of the increasing closeness between Moscow and Beijing. He also perceives a new threat in Brics. If the group keeps gaining heft, it may end up being a threat to the US in future. The combined economic strength of China, India, Brazil and Russia is almost twice that of Europe. These statistics don't favour the US in a changing global scenario. Trump knows that tariffs and economic sanctions alone can't contain Russia. Many of his predecessors failed in their attempts to tame Russia. This is the reason the US maintains the facade of sanctions on Russia but uses back-channel diplomacy to increase trade with it. Since Trump's second presidency, Russia-American trade has witnessed a 20% surge. As for India, after the Alaska summit, Trump said he may not impose "additional tariffs" as a penalty or punishment on countries buying Russian oil. It's not clear whether he was talking about the 25% penalty he imposed or any new tariff that he was working on. With the Alaska meeting having ended as a damp squib, New Delhi is keenly watching....