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HELSINKI (AP) – The result of the first summit between the unpredictable US President of the first term and the long-standing leader of Russia's sharp-eyed is anyone's guess. Without a fixed agenda, the summit could turn between the show and the background. As Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin go to the meeting in Helsinki on Monday, here is a glimpse of what each president is hoping for:
WHAT TRUMP WANTS
What Trump wants from Russia has long been the only one. one of the great mysteries of The President will go to the summit, followed by whispers about his ties with Moscow, issues that have only become more urgent since the Justice Ministry indicted last week 12 Russian military intelligence officers accused of Interfering in the 2016 elections in an effort To help Trump
And while most of the summits featuring an American president are carefully designed to produce a tangible result, Trump will go face to face with Putin who did little preparation, without clear agenda and with a track Despite his protests, he hints that he will not challenge his Russian counterpart to meddle in elections.
"I think we are going to this meeting without trying to" Trump told reporters last week
Trump vigorously insisted that improving relations with Russia would be beneficial to states But a big part of the call of the meeting of Finland is simply to have the summit itself and to strengthen the links between Washington and Moscow and between Putin and Trump, who places his relations with the foreign leaders at the heart of its foreign policy.The fact that we have a summit at this level, at this moment in history, is a deliverable in itself, "said Jon Huntsman, the ambassador American in Russia. "What's important here is that we're starting a discussion."
Trump was drawn to the summit's show and expressed a desire to recreate in Helsinki the media show of the Singapore summit last month when he met North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
While many NATO leaders have been supportive this week, the Helsinki summit has raised fears among many world capitals that Trump is pulling out of traditional Western alliances, thus allowing Putin to Extend its sphere of influence. Back home again, there is distrust in Capitol Hill, with a number of Democrats and a handful of Republicans urging Trump to cancel the summit after the explosive charges.
But Trump promised to handle Putin. he took to refer to as a "competitor" rather than an opponent.
And Trump in recent days has described some of the articles he would like to discuss, including Ukraine. Although the President has declared himself "dissatisfied" with the annexation of Crimea by Russia, he blames it on his predecessor and says that he will continue to maintain relations with Putin even though Moscow refuses to make the peninsula.
Putin to discuss Syria war and arms control, talks White House officials have reported could be fruitful
"I'll talk about nuclear proliferation," president said alongside British prime minister Theresa May Friday. We have modernized, repaired and bought, and this is only a devastating technology, and they also do a lot, and it's a very, very bad policy.
But it is a question of electoral interference, including fears that Russia might try to interfere in the mid-term elections this fall, which could play a central role in the talks at the summit or even bigger ones are not discussed. In Putin's two previous meetings – informal talks on the sidelines of the summits last year in Germany and Vietnam – did the president publicly reprimand the Russian leader, questioning his faith in the denials of the former KGB officer
Trump has repeatedly questioned the conclusion that Russia was behind the hacking of its Democratic rivals and the unfair investigation of Special Adviser Robert Mueller on the possible links between Russia and its campaign of "witch hunt". But he said in Britain that he would raise it with Putin while minimizing its impact.
"I do not think you have a" Gee, I did it, I did it. Trump says, invoking a TV detective. "There will not be any Perry Mason here, I do not think so, but you never know what's going on, but I'll ask the question firmly."
WHAT PUTIN WANTS
For Putin, sitting Trin wants the US and its allies to lift the sanctions, withdraw NATO forces deployed near Russia's borders and re-establish relations with Moscow. In the longer term, he hopes to persuade the United States to recognize Moscow's influence over its former Soviet neighbors and, more generally, to recognize Russia as a global player whose interests must be taken into account
. Putin realizes that no significant progress will come from a single meeting. More than anything else, he sees Monday's summit as an opportunity to develop good relations with Trump and set the stage for regular high-level contacts
"Russian-US relations are not at their lowest The Cold War, they've never been as bad as they are now, "said Fyodor Lukyanov, who chairs the Council for Foreign Policy and Defense, an influential Moscow-based association of 39, political experts. "It's unhealthy and abnormal when the leaders of the two nuclear powers are able to destroy each other and the rest of the world do not meet."
Moscow sees Trump's criticism of NATO allies and his recent comments from the Group of Seven Industrialized Nations with cautious optimism but no euphoria. Initially excited about Trump's election, the Kremlin realized that his hands are tied by ongoing investigations into his complicity with Moscow
Konstantin Kosachev, chairman of the Kremlin foreign affairs committee in the Upper House of Parliament. In his blog, Russia will not talk about "illusory subjects", such as the prospect of lifting Western sanctions or the return of Russia to the G7.
Putin knows that it would be unrealistic to expect an American recognition of Russia. the annexation of Crimea or a quick cancellation of sanctions approved by Congress. Instead, it is likely to focus on issues where a compromise is possible to help melt the ice.
Syria is an area where Moscow and Washington could potentially find common ground.
for a deployment of the Syrian army along the border with Israel in exchange for the withdrawal of Iranian forces and their proxies from Hezbollah, whose presence in the region represents a red line for Israel.
Little rapid progress on other major issues
Kosachev said that it would be "useless" to discuss Russian interference in US elections, which Moscow firmly denies. He also warned that demands for Russia to return Crimea to Ukraine or revise its policy on East Ukraine would also be unsuccessful. The Kremlin considers the status of Crimea as non-negotiable and blames the Ukrainian government for the lack of progress on the resolution of the conflict in eastern Ukraine in 2015.
Putin left the door open for eventual deployment of the UN. peacekeeping forces to separate the warring parties, but firmly rejected Ukraine for its presence along the border with Russia.
On arms control, an area where the United States and Russia could reach agreement is a possible extension of the expire in 2021, which caps the number of nuclear warheads deployed at 1,550 for each country.
The Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, signed in 1987 by President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, is expected to last indefinitely. to have troubles. The United States has accused Russia of violating the terms of the treaty by developing a new cruise missile, which Moscow has denied.
Russia has promised to adhere to both treaties, but it has become less focused on arms control agreements than in the past, after complaining about US missile defense plans as a threat For Russia, Putin unveiled in March a series of new weapons that he said would make the US missile shield useless, including a hypersonic intercontinental missile and a long range submarine drone armed with weapons. an atomic weapon.
"Russia was much weaker, and the weak are still trying to appeal to international law," Lukyanov said. "But the atmosphere is different now, and Russia is much more confident."
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Isachenkov reported from Moscow.
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