On Friday (15), US President Donald Trump and Russian dictator Vladimir Putin gather in the city of Anchorage, the US state of Alaska, to discuss ways to end the war in Ukraine.
The meeting will be the first among the two leaders during the republican’s second term. Before Trump, Putin has met with former Republican President George W. Bush, as well as democrats Barack Obama and Joe Biden. Remember the main domes.
George W. Bush
The first meeting between Putin and Bush took place during a summit in Slovenia in June 2001. At the time, the Republican President stated that the meeting had been an “important step in building a constructive and respectful relationship with Russia.”
Asked if the American leader could trust Russia, Bush said that “looked the man in Putin and” found him very straight and reliable. “
“I was able to understand your soul; a man deeply committed to his country and the best interests in his country,” he said at the time.
About the meeting, Putin, at the time, said it was “very interesting and positive,” and that “as a person who studied history, proposed an approach and a very global and large -scale vision of history.”
Bush the following year was Moscow, where the two mandates signed a treaty to reduce the number of nuclear warheads maintained by both countries.
The two leaders met several times during the former president’s term-including Putin visits to the US and travel to Bush Ranch at Texas and the family home in Kennebunkport, Maine, where he used to host heads of state during his government.
After the American invasion of Iraq in 2003, – which Russia opposed – the relationship between Bush and Putin cooled and tensioned.
Five years later, in an informal and tense meeting, during Bush’s historic trip to Beijing for the 2008 summer Olympics, the US president questioned the Russian dictator and expressed concerns about Russia’s continuous attacks on his neighbor, Georgia.
At the time, the confrontation between the Russian government and Georgia was motivated by territorial disputes involving separatist regions.
Barack Obama
The first meeting between Barack Obama and Putin-who held the position of Prime Minister during the first years of Democratic management-took place in Moscow in July 2009. At the time, the US President also visited Russian homologous Dmitry Medvedev.
During his stay in the Russian capital, Obama even stated that his greatest interest was to deal with Medvedev, although he also stressed interest in establishing dialogue with Putin “and all the other influential sectors of Russian society so that I can have a complete view of the needs and concerns of the Russian people.”
“Our interest is to deal with the Russian government as a whole to achieve the best bilateral relationship that I believe is possible,” he said in his second year of management.
Russian President Vladimir Putin (E) greets his American counterpart, Barack Obama (D), on September 28, 2015, during the United Nations headquarters in New York. (Photo: EFE / Chip Somodevilla / Pool)In 2012, Putin returned to the presidency of the country and, a year later, the White House canceled a summit planned with the homologist in Moscow. The reason cited by the US was the “disappointing decision” of the Russian government to grant Asylum to the Edward Snowden National Security Leak, citing the lack of progress in the bilateral agenda of both countries.
Over time, more crises and divergences between the two nations broke out, motivated by the invasion and illegal attachment of Crimea by Russia in 2014 and Moscow’s support to Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad, whose United States had demanded deposition.
Obama and Putin met again in 2015 at the UN General Assembly in New York. This was Putin’s last visit to the US to the current summit in Alaska.
Donald Trump (first term)
Donald Trump and Putin met for the first time in July 2017, during a G20 summit in Hamburg, Germany – at the time, both presidents.
A year later, the main meeting between both took place in Helsinki in July 2018, when the leaders talked for about two hours at closed doors. At the time, the debate on the American election was marked by allegations of alleged interference from Moscow.
In an extraordinary press conference, alongside Putin, Trump signaled to accept the Russian denial of electoral interference after conclusions of American intelligence.
The theme returned to the scene this year, when after its return to the presidency, US National Intelligence Director Tulsi Gabbard removed the secrecy of office documents and stated that one of them showed evidence of a “conspiracy of betrayal” by Obama management officials during the election elected Trump for the first time. The Democrat classified the allegations as “bizarre” and “outrageous”.
United States President Donald J. Trump (E), and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin (D), while granting a joint press conference after the formal summit between both leaders held at Helsinki’s presidential palace, Finland. (Foto: EFE/ Anatoly Maltsev)About the Russian negations of electoral interference, Trump said: “[Putin] It has just said that it is not Russia. I will say the following. I see no reason for it to be, “after meeting the homologist.” I have great confidence in my intelligence services, but I will say that President Putin was extremely strong and powerful in his denial today, “he added.
When asked about the reasons why the Republican should believe Moscow’s denial, Putin said, “You can’t trust anyone,” and called the US intelligence agencies discoveries. He also said he wanted Trump to win the election “because he spoke of normalizing the US-Russian relationship.”
The situation was a cause of headache for Trump in the US and the next day the Republican turned back, saying that he expressed himself badly and wanted to say, “I see no reason why Russia was not.”
The summit also generated concerns about the absence of advisers or other government officials, only interpreters in the room with both leaders.
Still in 2018, Trump abruptly canceled a Putin -planned meeting at the G20 summit in Argentina, citing Moscow’s refusal to release ships and sailors of the Ukrainian navy seized near Crimea.
Joe Biden
American President Joe Biden and Putin met only once during the democratic management. The episode took place in Geneva in June 2021, when the White House requested a high -risk meeting with Moscow about the continuous Russian military aggression against Ukraine.
At the time, Biden mentioned that the meeting was “positive” and had fulfilled “what I came to do”. Putin called the conversation of more than three hours “quite constructive”, although he said that Russia’s military aggression against Ukraine was not the Americans account.
United States President Joe Biden (D) and Russian President Vladimir Putin (E) squeezes their hands up to the dome between the United States and Russia at Villa La Grange in Geneva, Switzerland, June 16, 2021. (Photo: EFE/EPA/DENIS BALIBOUSE/POOL)Less than a year after the meeting in February 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine in a war that extends to the present day.
