Russia–United States Summit (2018)
The Russia–United States Summit held on July 16, 2018, in Helsinki, Finland, marked a significant meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump, aiming to address the strained relations between the two countries. These tensions had escalated due to allegations of Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election and ongoing investigations by American intelligence. The summit was notable for being the first formal discussion between the two leaders, focusing on critical issues such as nuclear treaties, the Syrian conflict, and Russia's annexation of Crimea.
While both leaders discussed various topics, the summit was overshadowed by the Mueller investigation into election interference, which had recently resulted in indictments against Russian officials. The private nature of their initial two-hour meeting, with only translators present, raised concerns about transparency and accountability. During a press conference following their discussions, Trump’s reluctance to fully endorse the conclusions of U.S. intelligence regarding Russian involvement in elections drew widespread criticism and sparked a political backlash.
Despite the absence of concrete agreements, the summit was perceived in the U.S. as a diplomatic misstep, with many viewing it as a strategic win for Russia. Conversely, some Russian officials praised the meeting as a positive step forward in bilateral relations. The summit remains a contentious topic in the context of U.S.-Russia diplomacy and international relations.
Russia–United States Summit (2018)
Date: July 16, 2018
Place: Helsinki, Finland
Summary
On July 16, 2018, a summit meeting took place between Russian president Vladimir Putin and US president Donald Trump. This summit was held in Helsinki, Finland, with the goal of potentially improving tense relations between the two nations, which had been most recently exacerbated by American intelligence investigations indicating Russian interference in the US presidential election of 2016.
Key Events
- July 7, 2017—Putin and Trump meet for the first time since Trump’s election, during the G20 summit in Hamburg, Germany.
- June 27, 2018—The summit is first announced, with Vienna, Austria, or Helsinki mentioned as potential host cities, after a meeting between Putin and US national security advisor John Bolton.
- June 28, 2018—Helsinki is announced as the chosen location for the summit, with the date set for July 16.
Status
The investigation of Special Counsel Robert Mueller continued through the end of 2018, probing the nature and extent of Russia’s multilayered interference in the 2016 US presidential election campaign, and resulting in dozens of federal indictments and at least eight convictions or guilty pleas. Trump’s insistence in Helsinki, while standing onstage next to Putin, that he was not yet convinced of Russia’s role in the election, despite the conclusions of his own intelligence community, was widely controversial even among his supporters. Trump said that he had misspoken on the subject in the following days. As the Mueller investigation exposed further individuals connected to Trump, including his lawyer Michael Cohen, who pled guilty to crimes concerning campaign finances, Trump canceled his second official meeting with Putin planned to occur during the G20 summit in Argentina in November/December 2018.
In-Depth Overview
Taking place in Helsinki, Finland, the summit between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin was hosted by Finnish president Sauli Niinistö. The intended points of discussion at the summit, the first formal meeting between the two world leaders, involved pressing matters at the root of much of the tension in the nations’ relationship, including long-standing nuclear treaties, the ongoing war in Syria (particularly Russia’s role in supporting the administration of Bashar al-Assad), trade, and Russia’s incursions into Ukraine (specifically its 2014 annexation of Crimea).
However, the talks came at a problematic time for both presidents, overshadowed in many ways by what appeared to be an escalating American response to Russia’s influence campaign during the 2016 presidential election—and Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s probe into what role, if any, Trump or his surrogates may have played in those efforts. Just days before the summit, for instance, the US Justice Department announced the indictment of a dozen officers from the GRU, Russia’s foreign military intelligence agency, for their hacks of the Democratic National Committee and Hillary Clinton’s campaign during the 2016 presidential race. Many saw this development as a reason for canceling the summit or at least to make the discussion of election interference a top priority.
While several of the officials serving as delegates at the summit participated in a working lunch on the afternoon of July 16, the initial, approximately two-hour meeting between Putin and Trump was one-on-one, with no other national leader or even a transcriptionist present, only translators. That fact raised eyebrows among many observers, including top US security officials. Trump’s political opponents called attention to the unusual circumstances of the meeting and expressed concern over not having a third-party record of what was discussed or agreed upon.
It was not until a closing press conference held by Putin and Trump, in addition to interviews such as the one Putin gave to Fox News the following day, that some more specificity emerged about the issues reportedly brought up in the meeting. Despite the range of issues purportedly discussed, there were no official, substantive agreements on any of them. However, Russia’s election meddling, and the Trump campaign’s potential collusion, were the issues that proved most prominent throughout the summit, and the leaders’ press conference contained some statements from each that caused surprise and even alarm among many US political and national security leaders. Trump did not argue in support of the consensus determination of American intelligence community that Moscow was deeply involved in trying to subvert American elections.
The two leaders mentioned talk of Russia’s annexation of Crimea and larger issues around Russia’s conflict with Ukraine but did not indicate any resolution regarding those geopolitical issues. They also talked of Syria’s brutal civil war and the extent of US and Russian involvement in the country—as well as the complex roles of regional players such as Iran and Israel. Trump appeared to make a commitment that the United States would eventually help the country rebuild. According to Putin, they also spoke of extending the soon-to-expire New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START). On the subject of economics, Putin expressed hope that global business would support the removal of ongoing Western sanctions against Russia, and as far as energy issues, the matter of the Russian construction of a gas pipeline to Germany was briefly addressed as part of a question asked of Trump.
After the press conference, Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov assessed the summit in glowing terms. In the United States, meanwhile, former Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) director John Brennan took the opposite view. He said on Twitter that Trump’s performance was treasonous, casting aspersions on his comments and apparent subservience to Putin on the world stage. The negative reactions in the United States came, to varying degrees, from both Democrats and Republicans. Several observers called the press conference a strategic diplomatic win for Russia and an embarrassment for the United States and its global interests.
Key Figures
Vladimir Putin: President of Russia.
Donald Trump: President of the United States.
Bibliography
Clark, D. (2018, June 27). Trump and Putin to hold first summit. NBC News. Retrieved from https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/white-house/trump-putin-hold-first-summit-n886971
Here’s what Trump and Putin actually said in Helsinki. (2018, July 18). Foreign Policy. Retrieved from https://foreignpolicy.com/2018/07/18/heres-what-trump-and-putin-actually-said-in-helsinki/
Jenkins, N. (2018, June 28). What we know about Trump’s summit with Putin (so far). Time. Retrieved from http://time.com/5324850/putin-trump-summit-date-location/
Trump-Putin summit: US leader hails “good start” in Helsinki. (2018, July 16). BBC News. Retrieved from https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-44842732
Wintour, P. (2018, July 17). Helsinki summit: What did Trump and Putin agree? The Guardian. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/jul/17/helsinki-summit-what-did-trump-and-putin-agree