Donald Trump meets Vladimir Putin: Why the Helsinki summit is so important

It's already happening with the place: Finland! Ironically.

In Helsinki, US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin will meet on Monday. The meeting, scheduled for about four hours in the presidential palace of the Finnish capital, is eagerly awaited worldwide. It is the first official US-Russian summit since the Russian annexation of the Ukrainian Peninsula of Crimea in 2014.

Finland is not a member of NATO, considered neutral , which the Finns themselves do not see. The powerful neighbor Russia has seen the state as an important buffer against the West for decades.

This sets the stage for the meeting: America and Russia are rivals, as they were at the time of the Cold War, and the summits can not take place in this state only on a neutral basis.

The Finnish capital is also synonymous with relaxation between East and West: here in the 1970s, the process said CSCE was launched with a grand conference between the then Soviet Union and the NATO states.

Will Trump and Putin inaugurate a new phase of "relaxation"? Will Trump treat the Russian president even better than NATO partners at the chaotic summit in Brussels? And what role will Russia's interference in Trump's election play as president of the United States?

Here are the key points observers will observe at the summit:

. 1 The Interview in four eyes

Probably at the request of Trump, he and Putin become the first to meet for a four-eyed conversation. No employee should be in the room, it is not even clear if even interpreters would be there. The two men would then communicate in English, which Putin speaks reasonably well. Of course, this unusual format leaves plenty of room for speculation.

In the United States, many opponents of Trump speculate on the merits of the Russian affair that the US president wants to receive further instructions from his "friend" Putin. The former head of the Russian Internal Intelligence Service has Trump in hand. Others point to Trump's penchant for "business" between men. Maybe Trump hopes to be able to negotiate confidential arrangements on important issues such as Syria or Ukraine in the conversation without an employee with Putin.

Putin, who wanted this meeting for a long time, would be well prepared – unlike Trump, who is concerned about the rapid success of public relations. Even Trump's closest badociates view the conversation with concern, because they fear the president may make Putin in his typical spontaneous way of promises that harm the long-term American interests. The American power elite does not want to accept that Trump is doing his own politics against Moscow, he said in the Russian state television led by Putin. Of course, you can see it too.

. 2 The tone

At the latest after the disastrous G7 summit and the harsh attacks of Trump against Important NATO partners In Brussels, there is the impression that the US President is engaged in Putin's affairs: he divides and weakens the West and treats friends and relatives. the opponents. Trump also sends other signals. He always stresses that he sees Moscow as a "rival" or a "competitor". He expelled Russian diplomats from the country and made riots against the Nord Stream II gas pipeline, important for Russia, and took part in a series of measures in Brussels to limit Russia's influence in Europe. 39; East.

In political Moscow, therefore, one does not know what to do with the sometimes confusing statements of Trump really. This does not help that Trump has shown his admiration for Putin many times. The initial enthusiasm for the White House man has dropped dramatically in Russia in recent months.

That is why it is important to hear what Ton Trump is calling in Helsinki. Will he treat Putin as his true friend on an equal footing and distance himself from his own allies? Or will he also criticize Russia's policy? And how will Putin react?

. 3 The war in Syria and the role of Iran

S & P There is one subject where there is really something to discuss and give some kind of understanding, that is Syria. Putin, who sided with dictator Bashar al-Assad as a military protector, is in a powerful position – unlike the United States, who are present in the country but who have little influence . This is also demonstrated by Putin's talks before the summit, for example with Turkish President Erdogan, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and Ali Akbar Velajati, a close adviser to Ayatollah Khamenei, the Iranian Supreme Leader.

Trump wants the troops to completely recover from Syria. But he wants a commitment from Putin that Iran also withdraws with its troops from Syria. The US president and Israel regard Tehran as a major problem in the Middle East. For Putin, Iran is no longer a partner, but also the influence of the Kremlin boss on Tehran is limited. So the question is what commitments Russian President Trump can really make. As much as Russia, if the Iranian troops withdraw, will have to make up for this with its own resources in Syria.

. 4 Ukraine and sanctions

It is unlikely that Putin will ask US President Trump to facilitate punitive measures. After all, it would be a sign of weakness. A concession of the Russian president in the Crimean question is excluded.

Moreover, Trump's room for maneuver in Moscow is considered low given the congress, which recently pushed for new sanctions against Russia. The United States and the EU have imposed sanctions in Moscow for the annexation of the Ukrainian peninsula and the Russian secret military operation in eastern Ukraine.

People still die in Donbbad, more than 10,000 were killed. It is unclear where Trump is in the question of Ukraine. It is possible, however, that Putin asks Trump to stop military aid to Ukraine, which is already hundreds of millions of dollars. In return, the Russian president could move regarding a possible deployment of blue helmets in the control of pro-Russian fighters in eastern Ukraine, where there has been little progress recently.

. 5 The Interference of Russia in the US Elections

The interference of the Russians in the US elections plays into the debate the United States continue to play a huge role. All intelligence experts are in agreement: Putin wanted Trump to win the elections and let his agents participate in the elections. US chief of intelligence Dan Coats reiterated this point of view unequivocally: Russia is "the most aggressive foreign player in cyberattacks", the US digital infrastructure is "literally attacked".

Trump himself calls the Russians a "joke" and a "witch hunt." But many of his party friends are waiting for Trump to warn Putin before the upcoming congressional elections. 39, refraining from intervening in future votes.Pressure on the US President has increased on this issue.Just before the summit with Putin, the US Special Investigator Robert Mueller has filed a lawsuit against twelve alleged service hackers Russian military intelligence GRU.The Democrats even warned Trump to demand that Putin extradite the hackers.

In Moscow, the hackers' allegations were dismissed.The atmosphere of the summit should be disturbed, the Opponents of a Russian-American rapprochement have abused this issue, he added.And even if Trump addresses the issue (as he announced) in Helsinki, Putin will stick to it. to his own version. Not be ruled out that "patriotic pirates" might be behind the attacks, he once said. These are compatriots who believe they contribute to the fight against those who "speak badly of Russia".