A random meeting is expected

Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump will be met in one way or another on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Vietnam, said Dmitry Peskov, spokesman for Russian President. At the same time, he assured the journalists that the discussion and approval of the meeting of heads of state continues, the website of the newspaper Izvestia reports.

Recall that the Russian leader arrived in the Vietnamese city of Danang, where the summit takes place, on the morning of Friday, November 10. The President of Russia plans to meet with Chinese Chairman Xi Jinping, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, President of Philippine Rodrigo Duterte and President Vietnam Chan Dai Kuang. The meeting with the American leader is not included on the agenda.

Danang, Vietnam Anh Dinh

Nevertheless, within a few days, conflicting information about whether such a meeting is possible. The fact is that Trump in early November stated that he was waiting for a meeting with Putin at the summit. According to the US president, it is needed to resolve the North Korean problem.

On November 9, adviser to the Russian president, Yuri Ushakov, informed reporters that the meeting, “most likely”, will be held on November 10, RBC news agency reports. However, the parties, according to Ushakov, did not appoint a specific time. As for the basic topics of the conversation, they are expected to become what is happening in Syria and the situation on the Korean Peninsula, where tension is growing due to nuclear and missile tests of the DPRK, Ushakov explained.

On the same day, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said that there was no “final decision” at the meeting. Nevertheless, the representative of the State Department Hizer Neurt said that in Washington they would like to first discuss with Moscow the issue of creating new ceasefire zones in Syria.

Rex Tillerson US Army SGT. Amber I. Smith

On November 10, the representative of the White House Sarah Sanders said that there will be no separate formal meeting of Trump with Putin at the APEC summit. According to the Reuters news agency, the parties could not coordinate the Presidential graphs.

“Well, they will be in the same place. Will they cross and welcome each other? It is quite possible and even likely. But if we talk about the agreed formal meeting, then she is not in the schedule and we do not expect it to be, ”Sanders explained.

Political scientist Grigory Golosov agreed to comment on the situation for Polit.ru. In his opinion, the meeting of the leaders of Russia and the United States is quite likely, given the interest in it from Trump. However, it can be just informal - since official contacts between the two countries are currently extremely complicated.

“In my opinion, there is already clarity in this matter, because the American side has already received a statement that there would be no official bilateral meeting between Trump and Putin. And unofficially, they may well be crossed on the sidelines of the summit-and at the same time discuss some issues.

Trump himself said that such a meeting would be advisable - in particular, to discuss Syria and North Korea. And then the representative of the State Department specifically emphasized that Putin’s previous conversation with Trump was effective in terms of movement in resolving the Syrian conflict.

The fact that the official meeting will not, of course, indicates that now any contacts between the current American administration and the Russian authorities are considered by the American administration as risky - in connection with well -known accusations of the members of the Trump election headquarters (if not Trump itself) with Russia. But in order to discuss any issues, to meet officially, in fact, and is not necessary.

On the other hand, Russia, of course, is interested in this meeting to be given some kind of official status. From here, it seems to me, these constant conversations stem that, perhaps, the meeting will nevertheless be agreed. Its approval cannot be excluded, but I find it extremely unlikely. I think that the last American statement on this subject is most likely final. No official meeting is agreed.

And unofficially, Trump said that he wanted a meeting with Putin. And I find this very likely. In any case, to contact Putin Trump, as expressed in the United States, will be quite “toxic” - from the point of view of Trump's interests. But there is a meaning in such a meeting.

Can they achieve some significant results at an informal meeting? Well, once it was already - Trump then sat down at Putin at the table and they spoke for almost forty minutes. This can not be excluded now. But this always causes extremely unfavorable attention from the American media. Well, Trump is not used to such adverse attention.

Will the unofficial meeting of the presidents of the United States and Russia cause, if it takes place, less than this negativity, which would cause an official meeting, in advance? In fact, it can cause it less. Now that Russia is accused of interfering with the internal affairs of the United States, official contacts are still especially complicated. Unofficial are also perceived negatively, but not to such an extent, ”explained Grigory Golosov.

Add: APEC summit will end on Saturday, November 11.