Trump and Putin Bring New Era to the Stage

Some 21 years after Bill Clinton and Boris Yeltsin held talks in Helsinki, this very city was yesterday the stage for a meeting between another U.S. president and his Russian counterpart. Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin met in the Finnish capital at a summit that had no prior agenda, and that almost nobody expected to result in any specific outcomes – unless President Trump’s unpredictability brought about an unforeseen dénouement.

And while there have certainly been no specific outcomes, the performance of both heads of state left the impression that this may be the beginning of a phase in which dialogue will assume a key role in restoring mutual faith, both in the bilateral relationship, as well as in enabling joint efforts to address international crises. “The Cold War is a thing of the past,” said Putin.

“Our relationship has never been worse than it is now. However, that changed as of about four hours ago,” Trump declared, in an effort to suggest that there are no reasons to perpetuate the tension that has dominated relations between the two countries in recent years.

Both statesmen spoke about nuclear disarmament, the Syrian conflict, and especially about the alleged interference of Russia in the 2016 presidential election. Putin unequivocally denied the allegations – “Can you name a single fact that would definitely prove the collusion?” he asked – although he admitted to favoring a Republican victory on the basis that Trump wanted to “restore the Russia/U.S. relationship.” The U.S. president not only accepted Putin’s denial without raising the slightest objection, but had no qualms either about describing the legal inquiry under way in the United States as a “disaster for our country (because) it’s kept (the U.S. and Russia) apart.”

U.S. policy with respect to Russia exists as two parallel realities. On the one hand, the intelligence agencies have accused the Kremlin of having orchestrated a campaign of cyberattacks targeting the 2016 electoral campaign in order to give Trump an advantage, which has led to the indictment of 12 Russian nationals. On the other hand, the president is a law unto himself: He has never criticized Putin or Russia for the alleged meddling in the election – which he contested again yesterday when he came to Russia’s defense – and discredits the investigation that is being carried out by his own administration, a view which he reiterated in the joint press conference, siding with the Russian leader.

Putin arrived in Helsinki bolstered by the organizational success of the World Cup, and Trump arrived having taken aim in all directions against his NATO allies and having criticized the British prime minister. Putin leaves the Finnish capital having achieved a double objective: international legitimacy and the recognition of Russia’s status as a global power. Trump departs leaving the impression of having made many concessions with respect to his “competitor,” as he described Putin.

A point on which the two leaders do agree is that a weakened European Union serves both their interests. As far as Trump is concerned, it would support the trade war that he has initiated with Europe – on Sunday he went so far as to say that “the European Union is a foe (of the United States)” – as well as his demand that Europe make a greater economic contribution to NATO in terms of defense. As for Putin, a fragmented Europe would have greater difficulty in dealing with Russian security threats as it has been doing until now by way of economic and trade sanctions in response to the policies of the Kremlin with respect to Ukraine. Time will tell whether in the future, Trump and Putin will agree on any other matters.