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Trump and Putin test ties in Baltic showdown
HELSINKI, July 16, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – US President Donald Trump headed into a
summit with Vladimir Putin on Monday, determined to overcome diplomatic
tensions and forge a personal bond with the Kremlin chief.
If Trump’s instinct proves right and the pair find common ground, then the
Helsinki summit may take the heat out of some of the world’s most dangerous
conflicts.
But the Washington-Moscow rivalry has rarely been more bitter and there
are many points of friction that could yet spoil Trump’s hoped-for
friendship.
Trump began the day’s talks by meeting with Finland’s President Sauli
Niinisto, who has loaned his harbour-front palace for the occasion.
But first he took a moment to fire a Twitter broadside at his domestic
opponents, blaming the diplomatic chill on the investigation into Russian
election meddling.
“Our relationship with Russia has NEVER been worse thanks to many years of
U.S. foolishness and stupidity and now, the Rigged Witch Hunt!” Trump
tweeted.
After a stormy NATO summit in Brussels last week, Trump was accused by
critics of cosying up to Putin while undermining the alliance.
But, over breakfast with Niinisto, he insisted NATO “has never been
stronger” and “never been more together” thanks to his insistence on all
allies paying their fair share.
With Washington and Moscow at loggerheads over Syria, Ukraine and election
interference, even Trump has cautioned that he is not approaching the Putin
summit “with high expectations”.
The brash billionaire property magnate has been president for 18 months,
while the 65-year-old former KGB officer has run Russia for the past 18
years.
– ‘A good thing to meet’ –
MORE/MR/ 1350 hrs
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But the 72-year-old US leader nevertheless has a high opinion of his
ability to woo tough opponents, such as North Korea’s Kim Jong Un, whom he
met at a summit last month.
“I think it’s a good thing to meet. I do believe in meetings,” Trump
insisted in an interview with CBS News that aired before he touched down in
Helsinki.
In the same interview, Trump admitted that Russia remains a foe, but he
put Moscow on a par with China and the European Union as economic and
diplomatic rivals.
The Kremlin has also played down hopes that the odd couple will emerge
from their first formal one-on-one summit with a breakthrough.
Putin, who played host at the World Cup final in Moscow on Sunday and was
due to arrive in Finland later Monday, has remained terse in the run-up to
the summit.
On Friday his adviser Yuri Ushakov also played down expectations, saying:
“The state of bilateral relations is very bad…. We have to start to set
them right.”
– Giving up ground? –
Indeed, after the bad-tempered NATO summit and a contentious trip by Trump
to Britain, anxious European leaders may be relieved if not much comes of the
Helsinki meeting.
Many fear that Trump — in his eagerness to prove that he was right to
seek the summit with Putin despite US political opposition — may give up too
much ground.
Ahead of the talks, Trump has refused to personally commit to the US
refusal to recognise Russia’s annexation of Crimea, leaving open the
possibility of a climb-down.
If Washington were to de facto accept Russia’s 2014 land-grab, this would
break with decades of US policy and send tremors through NATO’s exposed
eastern flank.
Trump’s critics in Washington will be watching this — and also how he
handles the growing evidence that Russian agents intervened in America’s 2016
presidential race.
– Extradition demand? –
Last week US special prosecutor Robert Mueller indicted 12 Russian
intelligence officers for allegedly hacking Trump rival Hillary Clinton’s
computer server.
There will be outrage at home if Trump does not confront Putin over the
scandal, but the mercurial US leader would not say whether he would demand
the suspects’ extradition. And his latest tweet before the meeting began
suggested that he still sees Mueller’s probe as more of a threat to him than
any tensions with Russia.
But of all the topics that may come up in the meetings it is Syria that
may prove most important.
Despite the doubts of his top advisers, Trump is keen to withdraw US
troops from eastern Syria, where they have been battling the Islamic State
group.
Reports suggest he may seek a deal that Russia work with Israel to contain
Iran’s influence, in exchange for allowing Putin’s ally Bashar al-Assad to
stay in power.
This could free up US troops to withdraw, but would also — as with Crimea
— be seen as a triumph for Putin and a betrayal of US allies on the ground.
BSS/AFP/MR/ 1350 hrs