Trump rolls over for Russians
BEFORE his summit with Vladimir Putin, Donald Trump had been his usual, confrontational self.
He had attacked his NATO colleagues for failing to meet their spending targets, abused German Chancellor Angela Merkel for buying Russian gas, embarrassed UK Prime Minister Theresa May over her Brexit strategy, and called the European Union “foes’’ when it came to trade.
But standing next to Mr Putin in the Presidential Palace in the Finnish capital Helsinki, Mr Trump had seemingly run out of fire.
The disrupter-in-chief, who had so enthusiastically attacked America’s traditional allies, had no criticisms to make of the traditional enemy, Russia.
He accepted Mr Putin’s “strong and powerful’’ denials of Russian meddling in the 2016 election.
This meant he had to choose a version of events – Putin’s, or the US intelligence agencies. He chose Putin’s, saying “I don’t see any reason why’’ the Russians were to blame for the hacking.
He apportioned equal blame to both countries for the poor relations between them.
He even backed down from his criticism of the German gas deal.
Mr Putin, on the other hand, gave no ground.
He did not agree to extradite any of the 12 Russian spies accused of meddling in the 2016 election.
He pointedly mentioned reciprocal arrangements for US intelligence figures operating unlawfully in Russia. He targeted Bill Browder, the American-born, UK-based anti-corruption crusader.
No progress was made on reducing nuclear weapons.
No one even mentioned MH17, the civilian airliner carrying 298 innocent civilians shot down four years ago over a Russian-controlled part of Ukraine, by a Russian-made missile, which came from a Russian military brigade, and was fired from a Russian missile launcher which travelled back into Russia after it was fired.
In fairness, Donald Trump did not agree to lift economic sanctions against Russia.
He also made no commitments to wind back the NATO forces along the Russian border in Eastern Europe.
So the question has to be asked – what was the purpose of the summit, and did Donald Trump get any political benefit out of it?
Part of the problem was Mr Trump’s continued fury at the special counsel inquiry into whether his campaign team colluded with the Russians during the 2016 campaign. His vehement denials about collusion overshadowed any serious questions about Russian meddling. He seemed unable to separate the two.
Just hours after his press conference, it was revealed a 13th Russian had been charged with attempting to influence American politics.
Maria Butina, 29, who had tried to broker a meeting between Mr Trump and Mr Putin during the campaign, was accused of infiltrating American organisations at the behest of a senior Russian government official.
US officials accused her of making connections through the National Rifle Association and the National Prayer Breakfast to try to influence the Republicans to adopt more proRussian policies, according to court records in the United States.
As Mr Putin himself said yesterday: “As to who is to be believed and to who is not to be believed, you can trust no one.
“Where did you get this idea that President Trump trusts me or I trust him? He defends the interests of the United States of America, and I … defend the interests of the Russian Federation.’’
Mr Trump would do well to remember those words next time he finds himself standing meekly next to Mr Putin.