The much-anticipated handshake between U.S. President Donald trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin finally happened on Friday morning. The first face-to-face encounter was a low-key initial meeting in which the two leaders said they will see each other again soon for a bilateral meeting on Friday afternoon, The Telegraph reported.
I look forward to all meetings today with world leaders, including my meeting with Vladimir Putin. Much to discuss.#G20Summit #USA🇺🇸
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 7, 2017
The second meeting will have media capture the handshake which would be analyzed by the quality of grip if the knuckles of the former KGB spy and real estate billionaire would also turn white, like what happened when Trump shook the hand of French President Emmanuel Macron.
For sure, the second handshake will not be as short as the one-second handshake on Thursday between Trump and Polish First Lady Agata Kornhauser-Duda.
G20 summit highlight
According to The Wall Street Journal, the meeting between Trump and Putin is expected to be the highlight of the G20 Summit in Hamburg. It will, however, be controversial because of Trump's Thursday news conference in Warsaw, when allegedly he acknowledged that Russia and other countries were involved in the election meddling in the U.S. in 2016. He also accused Moscow of playing a destabilizing role in the Middle East and Europe.
Putin, however, had denied having a hand in the election interference, although he previously conceded it could have been done by Russian nationalists.
Yury Ushakob, the foreign policy aide of Kremlin, said that Putin plans to use the one-hour afternoon meeting with the real estate mogul to discuss cooperation between Moscow and Washington to battle international terrorism. The two leaders are also expected to tackle the touchy topics of Syria and Ukraine.
Russian compounds
The Washington Post reported that the former KGB spy will bring up with Trump the possible return of two Russian compounds in the U.S. that the Obama administration seized in late 2016 in retaliation for the alleged hacking and disinformation campaign initiated by Russia. The Obama administration accused Moscow of using the two facilities to gather intelligence.
The Trump administration, however, has indicated it would return the two Russian compounds without conditions. The plan, though, is encountering bipartisan opposition in Washington not to return the properties which are part of sanctions imposed on Russia for weakening democratic institutions in the U.S.
The Telegraph reported that many Americans fear that because of his political inexperience, Trump would be less prepared than Putin who has been in power for a longer period and previously dealt with two of Trump's predecessors and other world leaders. Ahead of the meeting, Rep. Adam Schiff, the top Democrat on the Intelligence Committee of the House of Representatives, said, "There's nothing…the Kremlin would like to see more than a (US) president who will settle for a grip and grin and walk away saying that he had this fabulous meeting with the Kremlin autocrat."
