On July 16, Donald Trump will meet with Vladimir Putin in the Finnish capital Helsinki. In this meeting, President Putin has higher negotiation power and President Trump has almost nothing in his pocket to offer. Trump will surely call for Russia's help on all major conflicts in the region. He also demands for destroying all the documents related to the infamous pee tape. The Russia collusion scandal could also be another topic that Trump seeks to find out some ways to tackle with the help of President Putin in exchange for his support even amid the collusion controversy. This shows how far Trump is frustrated and obligated to ask for Putin's help.
Trump is not alone in this. M.B.Z., M.B.S., and Netanyahu were similarly aligned in their appreciation of Putin's role in the region. The Emiratis and the Saudis promised to invest billions of dollars to persuade Putin to pull out of Iran's orbit. Israel, Saudi Arabia, and the U.A.E. have called the United States for ending the Ukraine-related sanctions in return for Putin's help in removing Iranian forces from Syria.
Thus far, it seems that Trump is in a serious predicament and has no choice but to kneel before Putin. Trump, as the president of the United States, has nothing for controlling the insatiable appetite of Putin and defending US interests. On his trip to UK, perhaps, Trump is looking for a powerful leverage to balance his meeting with Putin.
Unconfirmed reports suggest that Theresa May handed over some documents provided by SIS (commonly known as MI6) about Vladimir Putin and his family members to Trump. SIS, also, assists the CIA in formulating the content of Trump's negotiation with Putin.
Trump visits his Russian counterpart with much respect as he knows very well that President Putin is a great choice as fixer of problems. In the coming meeting, Putin has already the upper hand as he has the power to make whatever Trump dreams come true.
Under these circumstances, the United States should not expect gaining much out of Trump-Putin meeting. The minimum loss and also protecting the red lines of national interest and security of the United States must be regarded as a victory. Americans should hope that Donald Trump is not compelled to jeopardize America's independence and security.
(Article changed on July 15, 2018 at 06:36)