What were Trump and Putin talking about? Only they know

WASHINGTON (AP) – Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin may have reached a number of historic agreements at their summit in Finland this week. Or, they may not have. It depends on who you are talking to. Three days later, no one was really sure.

No detail emerges from Monday's head-to-head discussion – aside from the vague glimpse they've offered – US officials, legislators and citizens are wondering what, if anything that is, was actually accepted. Both Trump and Putin said the meeting was a big success that should soon be rewarded in many geopolitical areas, but even the most comprehensive accounting of discussions – that provided by Putin – suggests that the results are far from over. to be certain.

And the fact that a high-level, high-level summit between the commanders-in-chief of the two largest nuclear powers in the world can be held without success or significant failure has caused many people to lose [19659004]. with the lack of information raised already increased suspicions of Trump. Democratic lawmakers have pushed to assign the notes of the State Department interpreter who translates for Trump or compel him to testify. Republicans blocked the movement. Officials said Thursday that the White House and the State Department were also likely to fight as a violation of executive authority, making the appearance of tickets unlikely until that day. that they be published in a historic record of decades from now on. everyone except Trump and Putin and maybe a handful of their loved ones are in the dark. Even Trump's chief of intelligence, Dan Coats, said Thursday, "I do not know what happened at this meeting."

"It's absolutely amazing, absolutely incredible, that no one knows what has been said." Democrat of high rank in the Senate, said. "If your president makes agreements with one of our main adversaries, if not our leader, his cabinet must know it and the American people too."

Generally, a summit, especially a two major powers, will occur after weeks and months of meticulous planning at lower levels with an eye toward producing demonstrable results. Agenda items, discussion points, desired results and even important parts of significant agreements are normally negotiated in advance, so that the relevant agencies of both countries are aware of everything. potential policy change. In some cases, the summit meeting and the leaders' signatures on a joint document or communiqué are mere formalities, as hard work has already been done by subordinates.

These conventions were opposed by Trump's buccaneering approach. State – the kind of approach he thinks he has worked on at his historic summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un last month. But this time there was no joint statement to formalize the outcome of the talks – just a 45-minute press conference where Trump stoked controversy by appearing to side with Putin on the assessment of US intelligence agencies that Russia has mingled with the 2016 elections. 19659002] The Russian ambassador to the United States, Anatoly Antonov, expressed hope Thursday that "verbal agreements between Putin and Trump will be filled "- although the content of these agreements remains unclear, especially because the main case was conducted within two hours Thursday, the Trump administration poured cold water on at least one proposal from Putin: that Russia be allowed to interview Americans accused of crimes by the Kremlin – the quid pro quo for allowing US investigators to interrogate Russian intelligence officials recently indicted s in the United States for alleged electoral interference.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said about the Russian proposal in an interview with the Christian Broadcasting Network

. However, from Putin's point of view, the summit put Moscow and Washington on the path of positive change. In recent days he has talked about finding a broad consensus with Trump on ensuring security along the Syrian border with Israel and on arms control issues. Meanwhile, Russia's defense and foreign affairs ministries have said they are ready to start implementing these agreements.

Trump himself also gave a positive turn to the top. He said that a second meeting with Putin will usher in the implementation of the list of articles they discussed in Helsinki. These, he said in a tweet, include terrorism, security for Israel, nuclear proliferation, cyberattacks, trade, Ukraine, peace in the Middle East and North Korea . "There are many answers, some easy and some difficult, to these problems … but they can all be solved!" Pressed for details, however, the White House could not provide any.

Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders mentioned Syria, Iran, Israel, arms control, the annexation of Crimea by Ukraine and its interference in the 2016 election as having been discussed. But turning these topics from discussion topics into action always seems like a work in progress.

"This is the beginning of the dialogue with Russia and our administration and theirs and we will continue to work on these things," she said. Journalists at the White House on Wednesday.

A few minutes later, the State Department offered its own point of view on the Helsinki meeting, saying that no agreement was reached; general proposals on issues mainly related to economic and strategic cooperation.

Spokesperson Heather Nauert said three proposals had been made: one for a high-level working group with US and Russian business leaders; another for the creation of an "expert council" composed of academics, former diplomats and military officials from both countries to review US-Russian relations, and a third for US and Russian national security councils. "You know, these are certainly modest proposals," she said. "The president had said that we would not solve all the world's problems in one meeting, in a conversation with the Russian government, but we think that's a good starting point."

At the Pentagon, officials were still waiting to see if their marching orders in Syria would change after the summit.

The commander of US forces in the Middle East said on Thursday that he had not received any new Pentagon instructions on cooperation with Russia in Syria. 19659002] "We have not received any other direction than that in which we are currently working," said General Joseph Votel at a videoconference from his headquarters in Tampa, Florida. He said that he was adopting a "stable as-is" approach in Syria in the absence of new instructions.

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Associate press writer Deb Riechmann in Aspen, Colorado, contributed to this report.