The U.S.-Russia Summit Is Already a Win for Putin
The meeting could reveal how serious Trump’s disaffection with the Russian leader really is.
By David A. Graham, The Atlantic
In Ukraine, the battle lines long ago calcified into a stalemate, with Russian invaders moving forward incrementally and occasionally getting pushed back. In the diplomatic sphere, however, the territory is shifting fast.
When Donald Trump meets Russia’s Vladimir Putin today in Anchorage, Alaska, the summit will be the latest in a series of concessions by the American president. Trump’s affection for Putin has waned—“I got along well with Putin,” he said this week, conspicuously adopting the past tense—as his frustration with the ongoing war waxes. Yet by inviting Putin to meet, he’s allowing Russia to further protract the conflict.
