It is easy to speculate the "Deal of the Century" (click here) has been signed off first by Russia.
July 17, 2018
By Angela Charleton and Dmitry Kozlov
Moscow — While Donald Trump (click here) came home to criticism from left and right after his first summit with Vladimir Putin, the Russian president came home to universal praise.
Instead of being portrayed as a duel on the world stage, the summit was viewed in Russia as a meeting of two mighty men who discussed global problems — and then had to face down a crowd of pesky journalists.
Back in Moscow, Russian authorities quickly jumped to act on Putin’s overtures.
The Russian military offered Tuesday to boost military cooperation with the U.S. in Syria after Putin claimed the two leaders found common ground in solutions for a post-war Syria.
And Russian prosecutors pushed to question U.S. intelligence agents and a former ambassador to Moscow in their investigation of an influential Putin foe.
Yet most Russians aren’t saying Putin vanquished Trump. Instead they’re sympathizing with a U.S. president on whom they’ve pinned hopes for improved relations, portraying him as a victim of irrational domestic critics and aggressive journalists.
With U.S.-Russia tensions exceptionally high, the Kremlin set low expectations for the summit.
“Nobody in Moscow who is realistic had any illusions that this one meeting can produce any breakthroughs,” said Alexander Gabuev of the Carnegie Moscow Center. “The hope was at least we can start talking to each other.”
And in that, Putin got what he went for. Gabuev said Putin ably won over his domestic audiences, notably by pushing back at accusations of Russian election meddling with his own accusations against the U.S....
