Wolfgang Hansson: Putin has already won

With a combination of hope and a great measure of prayer, the outside world is waiting for the Donald Trump summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin
Worried that the American President is too spoiled against Putin
– I do not see Putin as an enemy, says Trump.

Putin has already won. For him, as in the eyes of the Western world, little is an outcast, it's a feather in the fair hat that the American president is ready to travel to neighboring Finland from Russia to meet him. It does not need concessions to be considered a success for Russia.

Trump takes a bigger risk. No less domestic politics. An investigation is underway on a possible cooperation between the Trump campaign and Russia to influence the results of the presidential election. Seagulls there too with Putin, there may be trump in the dish.

Never said a bad word

The two have already met twice at international summits. Trump then described the personal chemistry between them as very good.

Since the electoral movement, it is clear that Trump has a kind of admiration for Putin. Although relations between the United States and Russia are the worst for many years, Trump has almost never said a bad word about Putin.

On the contrary, he was very positive

The Russian president is part of the team of authoritarian leaders with which Trump seems to have much easier to associate than their European liberal allies. Something became clear at the NATO meeting in Brussels this week when Trump strongly intimidated Angela Merkel and the next day of May humiliated with an interview in The Sun where he was honored by his main challenger Boris Johnson

. The intelligence services pointed out that Russia, after trying to influence the outcome of the US elections, had a negative effect on Trump's attitude towards Putin.

Trump does not forget

It is difficult to oppose the leaders of two of the most powerful countries in the world. The difficult relations between Russia and the United States would be good to defrost.

In particular, Trump does not forget that the main reason that the United States and Europe today have a number of sanctions against Russia is the illegal annexation by Moscow from the Crimean Peninsula that belongs to Ukraine. Including the generally more aggressive behavior of Russia towards neighboring countries around the Baltic Sea.

Trump has already hesitated on this subject, stating in particular that he wished to approve the annexation because Crimea was previously part of Russia and that its inhabitants were predominantly Russian-speakers. However, he probably does not dare to do it because he would face terrible criticism at home.
But such statements rebound on the anxiety that many people feel with regard to Trump making spontaneous concessions that the rest of the West can not accept

. promising to put an end to NATO military operations in countries bordering Russia.

At a press conference held at the end of the NATO meeting, Trump spoke about his attitude

. he said. It is from.

He simultaneously blamed the annexation of Crimea to his representative Barack Obama.

– It was on guard that it happened. Not on mine. If I had allowed this to happen? Absolutely not.

He promised to ask Putin once again for Russia's participation in the US elections.

– But what should I do if Putin answers again, no?

In the same press, Trump announced that he did not see the Russian president as his antagonist.

– He is not my enemy. He is a recipient. He's not my friend either. I feel it too bad for that. But I hope that he can become a friend.

At the same time, Trump points to the EU as an enemy in the commercial field. It's like he had already occupied much of Putin's worldview

In the corridors of Brussels, it was not difficult to find troubled leaders and diplomats from different western countries. Trump himself said that they all congratulated him for the end of the meeting

– it's just a free meeting, Trump said almost indecently. I hope this will lead to something positive

He hopes not to be alone.

Thus was the first encounter between Trump and Putin 00:34