Angela Charlton Associated Press Published 11:36 p.m. UTC Jul 17, 2018 Moscow – For Vladimir Putin, holding a summit with Donald Trump was a victory in itself. While the U.S. leader went home to widespread criticism after their Monday meeting, the Russian president came home to universal praise in Moscow – even though there were no major breakthroughs. Yet most Russians aren’t saying Putin vanquished Trump. Instead they’re sympathizing with the U.S. president, portraying Trump as a victim of irrational domestic critics and aggressive journalists, because they are pinning hopes on him for improving relations over the long haul. With U.S.-Russia tensions exceptionally high, the Kremlin set low expectations for the summit. “Nobody in Moscow who is realistic had any illusions that this one meeting can produce any breakthroughs,” said Alexander Gabuev of the Carnegie Moscow Center. “The hope was at least we can start talking to each other.” And in that, Putin got what he went for. Gabuev said Putin ably won over his domestic audiences, notably by pushing back at accusations of Russian election meddling with his own accusations against the U.S. Russians welcomed Putin’s offer to allow the FBI to interrogate Russian military intelligence officials accused of hacking the 2016 U.S. election campaign. And they especially welcomed Putin’s insistence on a tit-for-tat deal aimed at discrediting U.S. sanctions against rich and powerful Russians. And unsurprisingly, Russians welcomed Trump’s suggestion that he trusts Putin more than U.S. intelligence agencies. Russian officialdom “will be super-cautious in order not to… [Read full story]
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