The meeting between Mr. Trump and Mr. Putin is being viewed as the first meaningful interaction between the two countries since the end of Cold War. The world media is going berserk about the intensity of this meeting after months of speculation about their relationship going sour after Russia’s alleged meddling in the recent US election. Others feel that this will be a precursor to another ‘Cold War’ which may ultimately lead to the third World War with ideological differences over the North Korean missile crisis.
USA’s recent withdrawal from the world climate summit by blaming India and China also did not go down well with the developing countries and Russia is sure to bring this up.
Their differences over the free world trade between the EU and Japan could lead to a threat of sanctions by the USA and is being perceived by Russia as the US flexing its muscles as a self-proclaimed superpower. This is in the backdrop of the US rhetoric over the Syrian crisis which was seen as a chess game between the two military superpowers, a crisis that the two countries never compromised upon.
The rest of the world heaving a collective sigh of relief over narrowly missing a third World War over this crisis is worth mentioning. Also in the present scenario, there are many topics in the world arena that these two countries never discuss eye to eye. North Korea is one glaring example that can lead to an apocalypse as described in the Bible.
G20 Summit backdrop:
The 12th G20 summit meeting was held in Hamburg, Germany on Friday and Saturday of this week. The theme of the summit is ‘Shaping an Interconnected World.’ This summit in Hamburg will bring together more than 20 high ranking leaders including Theresa May, Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin, and Angela Merkel as well as representatives of different international organizations.
The meeting was at the historic Messehallen Convention Centre. A wide range of topics and issues of global significance also appeared on the summit agenda. A peek at the topics to be discussed reveals economic, financial, climate, trade, employment, and development policy. Other key issues include European migration and refugee influx.
But many analysts feel that the global climate change and trade polarization will be the dominant topics for discussion among the world leaders and CSO. Many protestors, mainly from Europe and North America, camped outside the venue.
The protestors came, as one of them expressed, to rally their solidarity against the world leaders’ divisive, half-hearted and ambiguous stand on a concrete global climatic structure and global free trade policies. They have appropriately christened their rally as the "Welcome to Hell" rally. As of now, clashes between the G20 protesters and special police have already left 76 police officers injured. More mass rallies are expected during the day as the world leaders face their own divisions over climate change and trade.
Actual meeting:
A towering and smiling Donald Trump met Vladimir Putin in Hamburg, Germany, with firm handshakes and a slap to the back of Mr. Putin. In an apparent show of bonhomie, they set out to clear the air after months of intense speculation about their relationship. Mr. Putin said that he felt great to meet Mr. Trump in person for the first time. Mr. Trump replied by saying how honored he was to meet Mr. Putin for the first time.
During their conversation, it appeared like they were getting along, both beaming and sitting side by side and agreed that great things lie ahead for the USA and Russia. They said that they want to repair ties that may have been damaged by the crisis in Syria, Ukraine, and North Korea, as well as Russia's alleged meddling in the US election.
