![]() “What generates stability is that your adversary knows that doing anything stupid will be met with a costly response,” Ian Bond, a former British diplomat in Moscow, told me. The bizarre dynamic, experts warn, is likely to leave Putin emboldened after the meeting in Helsinki. intelligence community assesses to have successfully attacked American democracy. But it was quite another thing for him to do all this on foreign soil, shoulder to shoulder with one of the world’s foremost authoritarians, who the U.S. That was, after all, a conclusion implicating Trump’s own legitimacy. It was also disturbing, yet almost routine, that Trump would cast doubt on the conclusions of his own intelligence agencies that Russia had intervened in U.S. It was one thing, perhaps-and not necessarily a good one-for Trump to condemn opponents, both real and perceived, at home. But those lines were well worn by that point the main thing that was different was the context. Trump, meanwhile, seemed to accept Putin’s answers and used his speaking time to once again go after his domestic opponents. And for 45 minutes they both had to deal with the media-and the media with them.Īt one point, Putin denied having compromising information on Trump, but then joked that as a former intelligence officer, he knows “how dossiers are made up.” Later, when pressed about the 12 Russian military intelligence officers recently indicted for election interference, Putin offered to allow Mueller’s team to come to Moscow and “be present at the questioning” of the officers. It was a press conference hosted by a man who has eviscerated press freedom at home and one who, if his rhetoric is any indication, seems to want to but can’t quite manage it. Putin, who has been essentially running Russia for 18 years, has managed to silence and intimidate the Russian press with methods ranging from commercial to violent, and next to him Trump’s own repeated cries of “fake news” against critical coverage looked almost quaint. politics, he confidently twisted the truth and trolled the American press corps in his answers. Not only did he deny any Russian interference in U.S. I really believe that."ĭuring the press conference, it was clear that Putin was in charge. “However, that changed as of about four hours ago. “Our relationship has never been worse than it is now,” he said early in the press conference before taking a dramatic pause. ![]() Still, Trump was eager to play up the spectacle of the event one last time. Speaking to a packed room of attentive reporters, the two leaders failed to offer any concrete outcomes from their meeting, despite weeks of speculation over potential deals on Syria, Ukraine, and nuclear weapons. Later, Putin emerged clearly satisfied after a roughly two-hour-long unrecorded one-on-one meeting with Trump and working lunch. Next, in a common power move used by the Russian president, Putin landed in Helsinki one hour late and zipped off the tarmac in his newly made Russian limousine as Trump waited with Finnish President Sauli Niinistö at the presidential palace and the TV cameras followed his motorcade through a cordoned-off Helsinki. Obviously enthused, the Russian Foreign Ministry tweeted “We agree,” in response. foolishness and stupidity and now, the Rigged Witch Hunt!,” referring to Robert Mueller’s probe into Russian meddling in American politics. ![]() Before meeting with Putin, Trump tweeted that the poor state of U.S.-Russia relations was the fault of “many years of U.S. The tone for what was to come was set early in the day on Monday. It was a disorienting and surreal conclusion to a diplomatic event that emphasized showmanship over substance from the beginning. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin’s flashy one-day meeting on Monday brought an international frenzy to the normally calm Finnish capital, culminating in a bizarre press conference that has left experts and commentators shell-shocked and declaring a symbolic victory for Russia. ![]() HELSINKI-After weeks of frantic preparations and buildup, the world’s spotlight has come to Finland and gone, leaving behind controversy and confusion. ![]()
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