Trump, Putin have plenty of tough issues to discuss
WASHINGTON — President Trump’s first face-to-face meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday on the sidelines of a Group of 20 summit in Hamburg, Germany, will be brimming with global intrigue, but the White House says there’s “no specific agenda.” So in the absence of a set list of topics, what are two of the world’s most famously unpredictable leaders to discuss?
A look at what Trump and Putin could address: Election hacking: Trump has been reluctant to publicly and directly acknowledge Russia’s role in meddling in the U.S. election, out of apparent concern it undermines the legitimacy of his win. And there are no indications he plans to raise Russia’s meddling at the meeting. Yet if he doesn’t, it will give fuel to Trump’s critics who say he’s blatantly ignoring a major national security threat. Irritants: Each side has a long list of complaints about the other that do not rise to the geopolitical level but are nonetheless impeding broader attempts to coordinate or cooperate on larger concerns. The two nations have agreed to set up a mechanism to deal with these issues the Russians describe as “irritants” and the Americans call “the smalls.” Russia’s wish list: Russia’s chief demand: the return of two properties it owns in the U.S. that were seized by the Obama administration as punishment for Russian meddling in the 2016 election. The recreational compounds are located in Oyster Bay, N.Y., and in the Eastern Shore region of Maryland. Another Russian demand is to ease surveillance of its diplomats in the U.S. U.S. demands: The U.S. has its own list, topped by a resumption of adoptions of Russian children by American parents which Russia banned in late 2012, and an end to what it says is intensifying harassment of U.S. diplomats and other officials in Russia. Ukraine sanctions: Moscow has long sought an easing of economic sanctions the U.S. slapped on Russia over its actions in eastern Ukraine and annexation of Crimea, which the U.S. does not recognize. Syria: Putin has pressed the U.S. to cooperate militarily with Russia in Syria, where both Moscow and Washington oppose the Islamic State but disagree about Syrian President Bashar Assad.