Bygones in Hamburg
President Trump swallowed his considerable pride and began his first in-person meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin yesterday by raising the issue of Russia’s interference in last year’s presidential election. Putin denied the allegation during the sit-down and then, well — it appears the parties just agreed to disagree, and move on.
U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson yesterday met with reporters after the two hourplus meeting between Trump and Putin, and insisted “there was not a lot of relitigating of the past.” The Russians asked for proof of the accusation of election meddling and the two countries have agreed to form a “joint working group” to address mutual concerns about cybersecurity. Yes, really. Tillerson said Trump is now focused on “how do we move forward on what may be simply an intractable disagreement at this point.”
Of course that suggests that Trump was ever focused on anything but moving on. While the leaders had “a very robust and lengthy exchange” about the election issue, Tillerson said, there is simply no indication from his account that Trump expressed anger, or that he impressed upon the man who ordered it that meddling in a sovereign nation’s election process is a game-changer. It’s no wonder everyone was so optimistic about future relations between the two nations.
There was other important news to emerge from the bilateral U.S.-Russia talks — news the Trump administration surely would prefer to be the focus of post-summit discussions. The two countries, in cooperation with Jordan, announced a cease-fire in southwest Syria, to begin tomorrow. It is the first attempt by Trump to negotiate with Putin over peace in Syria; until now the administration’s highest-profile effort came in the form of missiles launched at a Syrian airfield, in response to an Assad regime chemical weapons attack.
Tillerson said Russia has expressed a new commitment to restoring stability in Syria, where it has served as a longtime advocate of the Assad regime. But of course we have heard that song before. Whether the cease-fire holds — and if it does, it would be unlike any of the ones that came before it — remains to be seen.
Perhaps the agreement on Syria does represent a turning point — heaven knows the suffering Syrian people have been praying for one — and perhaps even a fresh start in U.S.-Russia relations. The latter is made so much simpler now that all that pesky election business has been swept under the rug.