Keys of the Trump-Putin meeting in Finland – International



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After many comings and goings, the Presidents of Russia, Vladimir Putin, and the United States, Donald Trump, will meet on Monday in Helsinki (Finland) in a historic summit set up as a meeting that generated expectations worldwide, but it will apparently have few results.

The two heads of state arrive at this summit with different expectations and realities. Trump, on the one hand, tense relations with the European Union (EU), after calling the "criminals" the member countries of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ), who hope that the meeting of the American president with his counterpart The Russian leaves more uncertainties than certainties.

On the other hand, Putin enjoys a popularity of 63.4% in his country. In addition, having hosted the World Cup gave Russia the opportunity to show the world, despite the heavy economic sanctions imposed by the United States. UU., Who hopes to be reduced.

The international security expert of the National University of Distance Education of Spain, Janiel Melamed, explained in dialogue with El TIEMPO the position in which each president arrives at this meeting : "President Trump is the one facing a forthcoming election contest, facing the November congressional elections, which no doubt serve as a social thermometer for his administration (…), so this would not be the biggest concessions are willing to occur against Russia, even more when they are accused of various sectors to serve as puppets to Putin. "

Trump would not be the largest of the concessions that We would like to accomplish first against Russia

The key to the meeting will be Syria, since Putin has been a strategic ally of the government of Bashar al-Assad, which Iran has also supported. According to experts, EE. UU he wants to limit the Iranian military presence in the south-west of the country and, at the same time, plan its withdrawal from this conflict.

Therefore, to get a consensus on Syria, Trump could put more economic pressure on the Kremlin. "Putin could consider rebadessing his strategic interests in Syria in exchange for reducing the sanctions they have on a difficult economic situation in his country … For this, he could manage the withdrawal of the military presence Iranian near the borders of Syria with Israel, "said Melamed.

Another thorny issue is the Crimea, the Ukrainian peninsula annexed by Russia in 2014. In favor of annexation to the G7 summit, the conflict entrenched in the east of 39, Ukraine between the Kiev Army and pro-Russian rebels backed by Moscow will be the subject of discussions.

However, Gladys Zubiría, professor in the Department of History and Social Sciences of the Universidad del Norte and a master's degree in conflict resolution from the University of Esbad, said to this newspaper that a statement by the US president in favor of a membership is unlikely.

Putin demonstrated his incredible ability to read personalities

"This question should be handled with caution by President Trump, because the position of EE.UU it obeys the rejection of Russian actions in Crimea," said Zubiría , who added that this is also not "a conviction beyond the penalties that have been applied".

Finally, the alleged interference of the Russian government in the 2016 Trump presidential campaign will also have a place on the agenda.

The president of EE. UU He described as "witch hunt" the investigation led by the special prosecutor Robert Mueller, who on Friday accused 12 Russian secret service agents of stealing and disseminating information about the Democratic candidate's campaign from then, Hillary Clinton. ] "This does not seem to be a problem that will provoke agitation or controversy between the two leaders; on the contrary, it is more likely that the similarity of their positions is recognized, making a common reference to taking Mueller's investigations as false news, "said Zubiría

Trump announced Sunday that he" could "ask Putin to extradite him. in the US UU to agents.

The two presidents will meet with their interpreters at the presidential palace, before joining their respective delegations for a working lunch. The day will end with a joint press conference

In an open letter to the US president, half a dozen Democratic senators urged him not to negotiate alone with the Kremlin leader

. leaders at the end of the meeting. Surely, the spotlight will show a handshake between the two leaders that will be able to appease, at least for a while, the tense relations that these two countries have experienced.

"Putin has demonstrated his incredible ability to read personalities," said Alina Polyakova of the Brookings Institution think tank. "After all, it's the training he's received as an intelligence services officer, and I think he's particularly adept at detecting weaknesses," he says. he adds

MEREDITH PEÑUELA AND SEBASTIÁN CORREA
INTERNATIONAL *
With AFP

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