(MENAFN- Asia Times)
The much-anticipated first formal sit-down between US President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, concluded with no surprises on Monday evening, while the two leaders vowed to move beyond political friction and find areas of cooperation.
The meeting was overshadowed in accounts from political analysts by the ongoing federal investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 US presidential election, which was brought to the fore on Friday with the indictment of 12 Russians by the US Department of Justice.
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While American intelligence agencies have assessed that Putin himself signed off on a campaign to sow discord among the US voting public and tilt the election in favor of President Trump, the Russian president denied his government was involved. Putin did not hesitate, when asked directly, to acknowledge he was hoping that Trump would be elected.
Following a two and a half hour-long closed-door meeting between the two leaders, the Russia probe dominated a joint press conference, during which the Russian president urged Trump not to put stock in the findings of US intelligence agencies, but instead to let the matter be resolved by courts.
Trump reiterated his position that the probe into whether his presidential campaign colluded with the alleged Russian interference was politically motivated and represented a 'disaster for our country.'
'Nothing would be easier politically than to refuse to meet, refuse to engage, but that would not accomplish anything.'
Making efforts to move past the politically-charged allegations, Putin touted the summit as a 'success.' The US president echoed the remarks, saying the meeting was a 'really good start for everyone.'
Topics discussed included Syria, which Trump highlighted as an important area of possible cooperation in conjunction with Israel.
"We both spoke with [Israeli President Benjamin Netanyahu] and they would like to do certain things with Syria having to do with the safety of Israel," Trump said. "Russia and the United States will work jointly [on this issue]."
While the Trump administration played down prospects for 'concrete deliverables' to come out of the meeting, there was some speculation that, following a recent meeting between Putin and Netanyahu, a 'grand bargain' between Washington and Moscow on Syria is in the works.
Further details of the private face-to-face session between the two presidents will likely be revealed in official readouts to be released by the two administrations.
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