[ad_1]
After two months of exchanging compliments, Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin are settling on Monday for the first time. summit, a potential political minefield at home for the US president but a geopolitical victory for his Russian counterpart.
Neither side is expecting major advances in talks in the Finnish capital. The two men, who praised their leadership qualities at a distance, could also agree to start restocking their respective embbadies and return diplomatic property confiscated after the war. a wave of expulsions and retaliation caused by the poisoning of a former Russian spy in Britain.
Prior to the summit, both sides spoke out about the event, however, with Trump telling CBS that he was coming in with "low expectations" and John Bolton, Trump's national security adviser, saying on ABC "This Week" that the United States was not looking for "deliverables" and that the meeting was "unstructured".
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told Russian TV channel RT that he also had low expectations. He said the summit would be a success if there was an agreement on the simple reopening of cut lines of communication, he said.
For Putin, the fact that the summit takes place despite the semi-pariah status of Russia and the American allies is a geopolitical victory because, in the eyes of the Russians, it shows that Washington recognizes Moscow as a great power whose interests must be taken into account.
For Russia, it is also a powerful sign that Western efforts to isolate Moscow have But for Trump, whose victory at the White House was actively supported by 12 Russian military intelligence agents, according to a recent US accusation, and whose entourage is still being investigated for possible collusion with Moscow, the meeting is charged "We can confidently say that Putin's political risks are lower than those of President Trump ", said Andrey Kortunov, head of RIAC, a Moscow think tank near Ru. "Putin has less to lose and more to gain because there is no internal opposition, a potentially hostile legislature, and that it is not the object of 39, a survey like Trump. But if you look at the US media, they focus primarily on the potential risks.
An investigation into allegations of Russian interference in the 2016 US presidential election overshadowed the Trump Trump presidency denied any complicity with the Russians by his campaign and denied Russia
Summit of Helsinki is the cornerstone of a weeklong trip for Trump during which he sowed doubts about his commitment to NATO 's military alliance, the so-called Washington special relations with Britain and US relations with Washington. European Union that he called "an enemy" in terms of trade
In this context and the swirling uncertainty about what Trump could do or say next, his summit with Putin, which will include a One-to-one session with the Russian leader With only present interpreters, American allies and American politicians are afraid to make hasty and radical concessions.
US Fears
Some Western politicians believe that the summit is taking place at one of the most crucial stages for the West since the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991. Some NATO allies fear that Putin is seeking an agreement that would undermine the transatlantic alliance led by the United States.
Trump said that he would support the alleged Russian election of Putin's interference, but expects nothing, vaguely He has repeatedly stated that '' it would be good for him to be able to talk with Russia.
When asked last month that he acknowledged the annexation of Crimea by Ukraine in 2014, he replied: "We will have to see." [19659002OnFriday12Russianswereindictedforbeingingestedinthe2016USelectionsadevelopmentthatpromptedsomeDemocraticleaderstocallonTrumptocancelPutin'smeetingaclaimhe
On the eve of the summit, Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer, a political opponent of Trump, said that he had told state secretary Mike Pompeo that the Helsinki meeting was a mistake .
"First, I do not believe t The meeting should take place, but if that were to happen, President Trump should insist on Putin on the issue of electoral interference. just lift him up, accept Putin's denial, and then let him get away with it, "Schumer said in a statement.
"Secondly, the president must demand that the 12 Russians named in the indictment be sent to the US to go to trial.And thirdly, President Trump should not accept any of them. weaken, lift or reduce the sanctions against Russia. "
Any request by Trump for Russia to extradite piracy suspects is likely to fall on the ear of a deaf person, as the said the Kremlin. the Russian constitution has a policy of not delivering the suspects sought by other countries
Many Western politicians remain angry against the annexation of Crimea by Russia, its support for the pro-Russian separatists in Ukraine and its support to Syria Bashar al-Assad
Other accusations, denied by Moscow, include its interference in European politics, the supply of the weapon that shot down a pbadenger plane in 2014 in Ukraine and intoxication of the former Russian spy in Britain
. I would love that US sanctions – initially imposed on the annexation of Crimea – are relaxed and eventually lifted, but most Russians do not expect the summit to produce such a result.
© Thomson Reuters 2018
(This story was not edited by NDTV staff and is generated automatically from a syndicated feed.)
