Trump, Putin exude bonhomie
US lawmakers blast their president over his uncritical comments towards Russia
HELSINKI: With a wink and a slouch, respectively, US President Donald Trump and Russia’s Vladimir Putin opened their long-awaited summit on Monday as the American leader declared that “the world wants to see us get along” and predicted rosy future relations.
“We have not been getting along well for the last number of years,” Trump said as he and Putin sat down at the Presidential Palace in Finland’s capital. “But I think we will end up having an extraordinary relationship . ... I really think the world wants to see us get along.”
Putin, for his part, said he and Trump have maintained regular contact through phone calls and meetings at international events but “the time has come to have a thorough discussion on various international problems and sensitive issues”.
Addressing reporters before the one-on-one meeting, Putin struck a casual pose during Trump’s remarks, slouching in his chair with his legs wide and eyes low. He nodded along to some of Trump’s remarks before they were translated, showcasing his fluency in English. Trump leaned forward in his chair, his hands tented in front of him and frequently glanced over at Putin. At one point, he shot him a wink.
British behavioural psychologist Peter Collett found both dominance and vulnerability among the tell-tale signs shown by the the two leaders.
“It’s not as though one is trying to lord it over the other and the other is being obsequious... What we have is the two men producing mixed signals,” Collett said. “Neither of them appear at ease in each other’s presence.”
After the summit, Putin, speaking at a press conference said the meet was “very successful”, with his discussions with Trump touching on issues including tension son the Korean peninsula and the situation in Syria.
Putin also scoffed at a suggestion that Moscow had any compromising material on Trump. “It’s hard to imagine greater nonsense,” he said
US lawmakers blasted Trump over his uncritical comments towards Russia, calling it “shameful”, “dangerous” and “verging on treason”.
Senior Republican Senator Lindsey Graham described the Helsinki summit and Trump’s joint press conference with Putin as a “missed opportunity” to hold Russia accountable for meddling in the 2016 election.
Senator Jeff Flake, a fellow Republican, labelled Trump’s performance “shameful”.
“I never thought I would see the day when our American President would stand on the stage with the Russian President and place blame on the United States for Russian aggression. This is shameful,” he tweeted.
Democrats had much harsher language for Trump. “In the entire history of our country, Americans have never seen a president of the United States support an American adversary the way @realDonaldTrump has supported President Putin,” Chuck Schumer, the senior Democrat in the Senate, tweeted.