The enemy is the more dangerous the wider he smiles
Probably, a real “analytical” tsunami from hundreds of articles, debates, TV shows and live broadcasts on the results of the Putin-Trump meeting will fall on the reader today. It is probably impossible to bypass such an event. Moreover, it is still possible to say something. Therefore, briefly, briefly, literally in a few words ...
The forecasts for this meeting were different, not only in Russia, but also practically throughout the world. From “a five-year-old child meets with a world chess champion”, where a five-year-old child meant Trump, to the bravura predictions of some of our political scientists who hinted almost at the division of the world to be held in Helsinki.
I myself was much more modest in expectations, assuming that things would not go further than agreements on the withdrawal of Iranian and American divisions from Syria.
But the reality turned out to be even harsher - in fact, no agreement was reached at the Helsinki meeting. And it is all the more surprising that Russia, obviously, was set up to play along with Trump a little to strengthen his domestic rating.
However, following the talks, Trump will have to “sell” voters only the fact of the meeting, which was held in a working, quite benevolent atmosphere. And it's all. Trump from Helsinki will not bring any other assets, he hasn’t managed to conclude any cool deals, and only Finland received dividends, which was again remembered in the world. Now a few extra tourists will come ...
Obviously, Russia was ready to play along, but did not want to lose. And we can, with a high degree of probability, assume that the American side overestimated the Kremlin’s willingness to make compromises by trying (we will call things by their proper names) to “dissolve” Moscow and proposing a very profitable agenda for negotiations.
Probably, it makes no sense to guess what exactly the Americans wanted to get. The main thing is that the technique, which worked flawlessly under Yeltsin, no longer works.
I would not venture to say that I easily guess human emotions by the slightest nuances of speech or behavior. But it seemed to me that Putin was still a little annoyed by the results and the course of the negotiations. It broke only a couple of times, while answering questions from American journalists. Implicitly, but still ... To say at such a moment that no one trusts anyone, and everyone acts, proceeding solely from the interests of their states, is, you see, far beyond the usual wording, which is usually voiced by satisfied negotiators after a successful, justified all waiting for a meeting.
But at the same time, it may be the most accurate description of the negotiations, accidentally escaping from one of the main actors.
Of course, the very fact of this meeting instills some optimism in us. It seems that the path will be long, winding and slippery, but it should have started from the first step. It is possible that what could not be agreed upon yesterday will be the subject of discussion more than once and at some point will find a solution, to the deep mutual satisfaction of the parties.
But now it has become especially obvious that we should not expect any fantastic breakthroughs in US-Russian relations. The enemy is the more dangerous the wider he smiles, and let's try never to forget about it.
The forecasts for this meeting were different, not only in Russia, but also practically throughout the world. From “a five-year-old child meets with a world chess champion”, where a five-year-old child meant Trump, to the bravura predictions of some of our political scientists who hinted almost at the division of the world to be held in Helsinki.
I myself was much more modest in expectations, assuming that things would not go further than agreements on the withdrawal of Iranian and American divisions from Syria.
But the reality turned out to be even harsher - in fact, no agreement was reached at the Helsinki meeting. And it is all the more surprising that Russia, obviously, was set up to play along with Trump a little to strengthen his domestic rating.
However, following the talks, Trump will have to “sell” voters only the fact of the meeting, which was held in a working, quite benevolent atmosphere. And it's all. Trump from Helsinki will not bring any other assets, he hasn’t managed to conclude any cool deals, and only Finland received dividends, which was again remembered in the world. Now a few extra tourists will come ...
Obviously, Russia was ready to play along, but did not want to lose. And we can, with a high degree of probability, assume that the American side overestimated the Kremlin’s willingness to make compromises by trying (we will call things by their proper names) to “dissolve” Moscow and proposing a very profitable agenda for negotiations.
Probably, it makes no sense to guess what exactly the Americans wanted to get. The main thing is that the technique, which worked flawlessly under Yeltsin, no longer works.
I would not venture to say that I easily guess human emotions by the slightest nuances of speech or behavior. But it seemed to me that Putin was still a little annoyed by the results and the course of the negotiations. It broke only a couple of times, while answering questions from American journalists. Implicitly, but still ... To say at such a moment that no one trusts anyone, and everyone acts, proceeding solely from the interests of their states, is, you see, far beyond the usual wording, which is usually voiced by satisfied negotiators after a successful, justified all waiting for a meeting.
But at the same time, it may be the most accurate description of the negotiations, accidentally escaping from one of the main actors.
Of course, the very fact of this meeting instills some optimism in us. It seems that the path will be long, winding and slippery, but it should have started from the first step. It is possible that what could not be agreed upon yesterday will be the subject of discussion more than once and at some point will find a solution, to the deep mutual satisfaction of the parties.
But now it has become especially obvious that we should not expect any fantastic breakthroughs in US-Russian relations. The enemy is the more dangerous the wider he smiles, and let's try never to forget about it.
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