Monday’s Helsinki Summit did not have any surprising outcomes but it nevertheless sent a clear message concerning the launch of a US-Russian dialogue in hopes of containing disputes between the two countries.
US President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin held a joint press conference that reflected the start of a personal relationship, seen by observers as a test of cooperation between both countries in several areas in the coming months.
Also, their scheduled one-hour closed-door meeting in the Finnish capital of Helsinki was extended to two hours as diplomats said the agenda of their talks would be the subject of speculation in the next phase.
Although both leaders admitted having differences on the Iranian nuclear deal and Ukraine, they were more in agreement on denuclearization, cooperation in the fight against terror and the need for dialogue to solve disputes.
It was also striking that Syria was brought up during the press conference when both leaders agreed to take steps regarding Israel’s safety, including limiting Iran’s interference in Syria in addition to cooperation at the humanitarian level.
However, Trump and Putin did not mention the political transition or the Geneva process.
At the joint press conference, US reporters kept bringing up the issue of Russian interference in the US presidential elections of 2016.
Observers noticed similar positions by both presidents despite accusations against 12 Russian security intelligence officers for carrying out the hacks on the Democratic National Committee and the campaign of Hillary Clinton.
Trump did not hesitate to discuss this issue, saying that Putin denied there had been any collusion.
On the other hand, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict was completely absent from the Helsinki Summit and was neither discussed by the two presidents nor brought up by reporters.
