After months of accusations that the Trump campaign colluded with Russian officials, President Trump himself finally met with the top Kremlin official himself in Vladimir Putin in Hamburg, Germany on Friday. According to a Kremlin official, Putin planned to make demands that the Trump administration reinstate Russian diplomats along with two Russian compounds in Maryland and New York State which were confiscated when former President Obama imposed sanctions on the Russian government last December.

Russian meddling discussed

The issue of collusion was unavoidable around their meeting as a criminal investigation is already underway with a special prosecutor.

This would still have to be the case even if President Trump had not brought up the issue which it was expected that he would not. But according to reports, President Trump did bring up American concerns of Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election. According to one report by CNN titled: "US, Russia disagree over what Trump and Putin actually said to each other," Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said that the President brought it up on more than one occasion.

But Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that Trump brought it up once and then they moved onto something else, accepting Putin's initial denial. That Trump would bring it up at all is somewhat surprising given the fact that the President has consistently denied that Russian's interfered at all.

He has also gone against the assessment of the intelligence community, more recently saying that no one knows for sure if the Russians had meddled with the election when it's been clear from statements made by senior intelligence officials that they had.

Geopolitical issues

A week before the highly-anticipated meeting, some advisors said they hoped, at the very least, President Trump would confront Putin with the administration's issues with Russia over Syria and the Ukraine.

In April, it was reported that the Syrian government had attacked their own people using chemical weapons. In order for the Trump administration to contrast itself against how the former Obama administration responded to a similar attack back in 2013, Trump ordered cruise missile strikes against the Syrian airbase that launched the aircraft responsible for the chemical attack.

The Russian military has had a presence in Syria since 2015 and was also present during those cruise missile attacks. Some analysts suggested that the Russians allowed the attacks against the Syrian government to take place. Even though this might have been the case, it was reported that the tension between Russia and the U.S. had increased more than ever since those attacks as Russia and Syria are allies. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson had already traveled to meet with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and President Putin and in turn, Russian officials -- minus Putin -- have come to the White House to meet President Trump. Until their meeting in Hamburg, the President had only spoken to Putin over the phone soon after his inauguration.

Skepticism of geopolitical solutions

The administration's stance on Syria continues to evolve with a U.S.-led coalition in Raqqa, Syria and increased tensions with Russia. The increased tensions have continued as the U.S. military had reportedly brought down a Syrian fighter plane and an armed Iranian drone, another Russian ally. Rex Tillerson has reportedly been working on an agenda that would point to how the administration should approach their relationship with Russia down the line. It was also reported that they spoke about the conflict in the Ukraine but it's hard to know if the any of the talks will result in anything constructive.

Last Month, President Trump met with Ukrainian President Poroshenko briefly at the White House which had reportedly also angered President Putin whose troops are currently engaged in battle with Ukrainian soldiers.

Putin came under diplomatic fire from former President Obama for instigating the conflict and annexing the port city of Crimea. Even Republican members of Congress have suggested that Trump exercise caution and not trust Putin. Prior to Trump's presidency, the relationship between both countries has been adversarial. With sanctions looming over Russia in Congress, it's unknown how the relationship between both countries could develop.
© ALL RIGHTS RESERVED