Much of the world’s media has had a heavy focus on the summit between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin over the weekend. Understandably so given what’s at stake, with the successful implementation of a ceasefire sure to save hundreds of thousands of lives.
Trump approached the meeting with trademark bullishness, promising he would table an offer “too good to refuse” and threatening “very severe consequences” if his terms were not met.
That he walked away from the meeting effectively empty handed (no ceasefire agreement has been reached at the time of writing) is perhaps not surprising given how steadfast Putin and Russia seem to be regarding their goals with the invasion of Ukraine, but the US president did say he and his Russian counterpart had made “great progress”.
For his part, Putin reportedly wants Ukraine to cede large swathes of territory to him, extending even to parts of the country his troops have failed to occupy. Needless to say, this is hardly something Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy is willing to agree to.
It’s a notoriously difficult situation to mediate (hence why any and all attempts at finding some sort of common ground have thus far failed) but Trump, as is so often the case, is confident he’s the man to get it done.
Just what sort of approach he took in his bid to get the war-mongering Putin to see reason remains unknown to the rest of us, but the two world leaders are said to have talked privately for three hours.
New footage leaked by Russian media appears to show at least in part what was going on behind the scenes, with Trump and Putin looking quite friendly with each other after that three-hour meeting had taken place.
According to the Daily Beast, the video in question sees Trump speaking to Putin, with Russian translator standing nearby. Trump is smiling as he speaks, with Putin appearing to laugh at something.
Some online users have reacted negatively to the clip, accusing Trump of “fawning” over his Russian counterpart.
Certain others have alleged that the footage proves “Putin’s dominance over Trump” calling it a “victory lap video” that the Kremlin and Russia’s state media released to celebrate the summit.
Donald Trump is set to meet with President Zelenskyy of Ukraine today, August 18.
What did you make of the meeting between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin? Let us know.