The official meeting between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin is happening now, and earlier, the two greeted each other warmly in their open air pre-meeting meeting where Trump got to give a (non-pumphandle) shake to the Russian leader’s hand.
The official meeting will be restricted to just Trump, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, Russian Order of Friendship winner Rex Tillerson, and a pair of translators. The last time Trump got together with Lavrov, he bragged about his insight into Syria, giving up an Israeli intelligence asset in the process.It’s not yet clear what present he has saved up to provide to Putin.
All signs indicate that Trump will not discuss Russia’s interference in US elections. At a Thursday press conference in Poland, Trump went out of his way to state while it was possible Russia could have been involved in shaping the election, unnamed “others” could have also played a role — and besides, it’s all Barack Obama’s fault. And fake news.
Trump and Putin’s mini-summit at the summit is the latest in a series of meetings between Russian and American leaders, many of which have carried much more crucial stakes in the form of threats of war and hope for reducing nuclear arsenals. However, Trump and Putin’s short meeting is unlike any previous encounter. From well before the election, the two men exchanged compliments (though some of these were not as literally glowing as Trump seemed to feel) and bonded over their hatred of Hillary.
It’s unlikely that any serious initiative will emerge from this brief get together. But it’s extremely likely that Trump will emerge from his Putin time sure that he and the former KGB chief have bonded deeply, leading to the promise of big things to come. That’s because Trump seems to emerge from every one of thees encounters sure that he has won the day and build a lasting relationship — with or without chocolate cake. From Putin’s side, any outcome is a win.
Whatever the outcome of the encounter on Friday — which will be on the sidelines of the Group of 20 summit meeting of world leaders in Hamburg, Germany, but is expected to overshadow it — the Kremlin is betting that Mr. Putin can stage-manage the event so that he comes out looking like the stronger party.
Trump has repeated praised Putin both before and after the election.
"I've already said he is very much of a leader. The man has very strong control over his country."
But don’t expect Russian sources to return the compliment.
If nothing much emerges from the meeting, analysts said, the Kremlin can repeat the standard Russian line that Mr. Trump is weak, hamstrung by domestic politics.