For the first time since being elected President of the United States, Donald Trump has met his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin at the G20 summit in Hamburg.

Trump meets Putin

The meeting is significant because there has been tension on both sides with the US intelligence accusing Moscow of meddling in the 2016 presidential elections. Russia has categorically refuted claims that it aided Trump's campaign by circulating fakes news against Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton.

Experts studying the body language of both President Trump and Putin have indicated that they appeared to be at ease with each other.

In fact, Trump reached for Putin's elbow after the handshake and slightly patted him on the shoulders. According to analysts, the incident indicated some form of respect for an equal partner.

End of US-Russia hostility?

Could this crucial meeting signify the end of hostility between the US and Russia? Since the fall of the Berlin wall, and eventual collapse of the USSR, there has been growing hostility between the two military giant nations. US-Russia post-cold war era relations sunk to a record low in 2016, just before Trump was sworn in as the 45th US President.

The rapport the two world leaders portrayed during the G20 summit could greatly help in addressing many global challenges. The threat of a possible nuclear war triggered by North Korea, the danger of Islamic state militants and even the sickening Syrian war are examples of global issues a combined US-Russia force could help resolve.

Russia to help fight terrorism

Even though many anti-Trump news outlets have sharply criticized the body language of the US President during the meeting, body language analysts assert that Trump acted within decorum. Is it time the US walked past the acrimony created during the vicious 2016 elections? Russia could become a critical US ally in the War On Terrorism and other global challenges.

Even as President Trump seeks to revamp the US economy, he could import cheap gas from the Kremlin.

The western media, which has largely pointed at Vladimir Putin as the bad guy plotting to destroy America's democracy should tone down the negative rhetoric and instead seek reconciliation with the Trump's regime. The 2016 US elections brought to the fore the ethnic divisions and disparities between various groups in the US. It’s time however that the nation forged forward in order to heal the political rifts between Republicans and Democrats. In a democracy, one wins while the other has to concede defeat.