“#Trump thinks he can look into Putin’s eyes & get a deal. He believes in his own talents as a negotiator,” Mr. Nizhnikau, the Finnish expert on #Russia, said. “The problem is that Putin has been doing this his whole life & is going into this summit with the [correct & proven] idea that he can manipulate Trump.”

#PutinsPuppet #strongman #fanboy#TACO#Ukraine

…A #peace deal on #Ukraine is not #Putin’s real goal for the summit, said Tatiana Stanovaya, senior fellow at the Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center. “His objective is to secure #Trump’s support in pushing through the Russian proposals.”

For Putin, she said, the meeting is a “tactical maneuver to turn the situation in his favor” & calm what had been increasing White House anger over #Russia stalling on a #ceasefire.

#PutinsPuppet #strongman #fanboy#TACO #geopolitics

“#Trump thinks he can look into Putin’s eyes & get a deal. He believes in his own talents as a negotiator,” Mr. Nizhnikau, the Finnish expert on #Russia, said. “The problem is that Putin has been doing this his whole life & is going into this summit with the [correct & proven] idea that he can manipulate Trump.”

#PutinsPuppet #strongman #fanboy#TACO#Ukraine

That, he added, could push #Trump back to the openly hostile stance he took on #Ukraine in February. He berated #Zelensky at the White House for [supposedly] showing insufficient gratitude for US assistance & for pressing on with a #war that he insisted Ukraine could not win.

#PutinsPuppet #strongman #fanboy#TACO#Russia #geopolitics

…“The worst-case scenario for #Ukraine & more broadly is that #Putin makes some sort of offer that is acceptable to the #UnitedStates but that #Zelensky cannot swallow domestically,” said Samuel Charap, a political scientist & the co-author of a book about Ukraine & post-Soviet Eurasia.

#Trump#PutinsPuppet #strongman #fanboy#TACO#Russia #geopolitics

On the eve of the summit on Thursday, the Kremlin signaled that it planned to inject other issues beyond #Ukraine into the talks, including a potential restoration of economic ties with the #UnitedStates & discussions on a new #NuclearWeapons deal. The arms idea plays into #Russia’s longstanding efforts to frame the #war in Ukraine as just part of bigger East-West conflict.

#Trump#PutinsPuppet #strongman #fanboy#TACO #geopolitics

…A #peace deal on #Ukraine is not #Putin’s real goal for the summit, said Tatiana Stanovaya, senior fellow at the Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center. “His objective is to secure #Trump’s support in pushing through the Russian proposals.”

For Putin, she said, the meeting is a “tactical maneuver to turn the situation in his favor” & calm what had been increasing White House anger over #Russia stalling on a #ceasefire.

#PutinsPuppet #strongman #fanboy#TACO #geopolitics

The deadline passed with no pause in the war — the fighting has in fact intensified as #Russia pushes forward with a summer offensive — and no new economic penalties on Russia.

“Instead of getting hit with #sanctions, #Putin got a summit,” said Ryhor Nizhnikau, a Russia expert & senior researcher at the Finnish Institute of International Affairs. “This is a tremendous victory for Putin no matter what the result of the summit.”

#Trump#PutinsPuppet #strongman #fanboy#TACO#Ukraine #geopolitics

But it is more than a photo op. In addition to thawing #Russia’s pariah status in the West, the summit has sowed discord within #NATO — a perennial Russian goal — & postponed #Trump’s threat of tough new #sanctions. Little more than two weeks ago, he vowed that if #Putin did not commit to a cease-fire by last Friday, he would punish Moscow & countries like China & India that help Russia’s war effort by buying its oil gas.

#PutinsPuppet #strongman #fanboy#TACO#Ukraine #geopolitics

President Volodymyr #Zelensky of #Ukraine, iced out of the Alaska talks about his own country’s future, has come to the same conclusion, telling reporters on Tuesday: “#Putin will win in this. Because he is seeking, excuse me, photos. He needs a photo from the meeting with President #Trump.”

#PutinsPuppet #strongman #fanboy#TACO #geopolitics

“#Putin’s visit to the U.S.A. means the total collapse of the whole concept of isolating Russia. Total collapse,” Kremlin-controlled television crowed after news of the hastily arranged summit broke last weekend.

For #Russia, “this is a breakthrough even if they don’t agree on much,” said Sergei Mikheyev, a pro-war Russian political scientist who is a mainstay of state television.

#Trump#PutinsPuppet #strongman #fanboy#TACO#Ukraine #geopolitics