Trump is still on Putin's hook - expert

RIGA - Russian dictator Vladimir Putin was the winner of the talks between the US and Russian presidents, but US leader Donald Trump is still on his hook, Maris Andzans, associate professor at Riga Stradins University (RSU) and director of the Center for Geopolitical Studies, told LETA.

There is only one winner of this summit and that is Putin, the expert said, noting that the dictator was warmly welcomed in the US along with his closest associates. The US bomber overflying the leaders' meeting place was, on the one hand, an unnecessary show of honor and, on the other, a show of force.

"Trump looked shaken, Putin was even called in his name. These signals were unnecessary. No major decisions are known to have been taken, although there were predictions that Ukraine would be divided up and sold. The virtual meeting of European leaders with Ukraine earlier helped to prevent this," the expert stressed.

Although the summit was overall a tactical victory for Putin, Andzans believes that Trump neither gained nor lost from the summit. "His electorate will see what they want to see, namely that Trump is trying to bring peace and diplomatically resolve the war," the expert reasoned.

As for the future scenarios, Andzans said that we have to wait and see what Trump will have to say to Europe and Ukraine about this meeting. At the same time, it is bad that the US has not imposed the sanctions against Russia that were initially reported. "I think Trump is still on Putin's hook, that is, he thinks peace can be achieved through him and there are hopes of a Nobel Peace Prize," the expert said.

However, the expert believes that Trump now has fewer tools at his disposal to put pressure on Ukraine, as Europe is now paying for US arms for the Ukrainians. At the same time, however, Trump can stop supplying Ukraine with intelligence and other forms of assistance. "He may as well give up, but I think he will continue to be involved in the process," the expert stressed.