The plot and uncertainty hang over the Trump-Putin summit



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"We can all agree, it's going to be great, the world has to start to hear," said President Donald Trump, extolling his recent summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin at a press conference. visit to Wisconsin on Thursday. But when Trump and Putin sit in Helsinki, everything will be brought to light except their crucial talks on North Korea, Syria, Iran and the unbridled disarmament treaties and fears of a new arms race.

his strange habit of getting closer to the Russian leader, his recent attacks against America's closest allies while favoring US enemies and the doldrums of American politics on an operation of electoral interference of the Kremlin will make their first encounter rich in intrigues and uncertainties. 19659004] "Russia continues to say that they had nothing to do with the interference in our election!" Trump tweeted

Normally, the talks in Helsinki, a city that resonates with the echoes of Cold War diplomacy, would not be considered controversial, but late, since Trump has been in power for 17 months. relations are at their lowest since the fall of the Soviet Union. Both nations have enormous problems to discuss and disagreements to defuse.

As the spokesman for Finnish President Sauli Niinisto said: "Even small steps to reduce tensions would be in everyone's interest." Putin, his relentless attacks on the institutions of the international liberal order after the Second World War, his habit of repeating the Kremlin's talking points and his difficult relations with Western leaders who see Russia as a threat, his motives are constantly challenged. Putin's aggressive attempts to recreate the glory of Moscow's power during the Cold War, the annexation of Crimea and the Moscow incursion to the east of Ukraine and the 39, attack of a former Russian spy and his daughter in ostracized Britain in Europe.

In fact, some critics wonder why Trump, who is nominally the head of the West, should offer Putin the legitimacy of a meeting National Security Adviser John Bolton, a Russian hawk, recognized the political importance of the summit after Putin's meeting in Moscow. . "The President determined that despite the political noise in the United States, this direct communication between him and President Putin was in the United States' interest, in the interest of Russia and the United States. in

"NATO worse than NAFTA"

  Trump runs short of Putin as relations with Europe sour

The anxiety of US allies towards Trump's approach to Putin has only been exacerbated by the disastrous G7 in Canada this month, when the President's President was shown late, left the traditional American allies and seemed more interested in his impending summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong .. One in Singapore

The story could repeat itself at the top of NATO in Brussels and during Trump's visit to Britain ahead of Putin's summit, the fear in Europe is that Tru mp, who is already blowing up allies in the Western alliance, could try to be heard before meeting the Russian leader

A Western diplomatic source, speaking before Thursday's announcement, says "ideally" Trump. would meet Putin before NATO: "Then you do not have the dynamics of G7 / Singapore."

But looking for a glimmer of hope, the source added, "If that's after, it gives the allies a chance to expose the stakes, so you can cut it anyway. "

Trump exacerbated his concerns with his tweet on Thursday's election interference. AXIOS, meanwhile, has reported that Trump has criticized NATO as worse than NAFTA, the North American trade pact that he sees as a plot to scam the US to the G7

Wednesday night, he takes on another pillar of the Western alliance – promoting another goal of Russian foreign policy – saying that he had been created to drain the US "piggy bank" .

A few weeks ago, he called for the reinstatement of Russia in the G7 without the former President Barack Obama not to stop the annexation of Crimea by Vladimir Putin

Trump has often gave the impression that he considered the allies of America as a greater threat to US national security than Russia

. surprise the allies, appease the autocrats and make concessions to cunning interlocutors, that's why the Trump-Putin summit worries American friends in Europe and Trump's critics at home

. One of the drawbacks of the mouth of the troubling atmosphere of the G7 summit is that it could obscure Trump's justified complaints that many European nations are not doing enough to fund the common defense burden. from NATO. It's a criticism that he shared with his predecessors as president – although no American leader has expressed it in such harsh terms, as when he went to the United States. NATO last year and blasted the American allies

Electoral interference, evaluated by US intelligence agencies, has evolved to help Trump and is the focus of the 39, Special adviser Robert Mueller's investigation

The White House highlights the sanctions imposed by the administration, the sale of offensive weapons to Ukraine and expulsion. Russian spies to argue that no president has been harder on Russia than Trump. But Trump usually ignores or surprises his own advisers, so their assurances must be taken with a pinch of salt.

After meeting Kim for example, the president blinded his team by announcing the cessation of US military exercises with South Korea. . He previously ignored the aides' advice not to praise Putin for his election victory last March.

Any president can use his authority to shape US foreign policy as he wishes and pass the calls. But Trump's often impulsive behavior and long history of wanting to please leaders of strong men means that when he does, he must face scrutiny. And his interventions, such as Thursday's tweets, often obscure the laudable goals of his administration's strategy

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The administration will sell the meeting Helsinki as a chance to pursue common interests as the president seeks to negotiate nuclear disarmament on the Korean peninsula and tries to obtain Moscow's assurances that the forces of his ally, President Bashar al-Assad, will not target US-backed rebels in Syria, as part of plan to repatriate US troops

Matthew Rojansky at Wilson Center, summit could be useful to revive nucial work contacts but "dormant" between Russia and the United States

"This goes from our middle and senior level officials dealing with nuclear arms control and non-proliferation issues of weapons of mass destruction to important contacts in theaters like the Baltic region and the Eastern Mediterranean ". It lacks the clarity and depth of understanding of each other's interests that can only come from a direct dialogue, even, perhaps most importantly, in the context of a conflict, "he said. Rojansky

.Members, his most fervent observers could be in Ukraine.

Andriy Parubiy, Speaker of Parliament in Kiev, said Thursday in Washington that he trusted in the commitment of the Trump administration towards the territorial integrity of Ukraine … minimized the problem of Crimea.

But he gave the warning that a soft touch would not work with the Russian leader.

"The Language of Strength and Language The influence of force is what Putin understands best," said Parubiy. "He should understand that the President of the United States will not yield never on such fundamental issues as freedom and territorial integrity. "

Michelle Kosinski and Elise Labott contributed to this report.

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