Trump-Putin meeting: warm words, few results

Trump-Putin meeting: warm words, few results
The first one-on-one meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin ended with a load of fragrant words and limited results.
AVA- At the press conference after the meeting, the two leaders voiced their satisfaction with the meeting as a "very constructive" one marking the "first important step" towards better ties.
Amid multiple tensions worsening both trans-Atlantic relations and Russia-West ones, however, both leaders acknowledged that problems remain in Syria, Ukraine and Crimea, making experts doubt whether the meeting could achieve tangible results.
 
DIFFERENCES REMAIN
During the talks scheduled on Monday at the Finland's capital of Helsinki, the two leaders agreed to cooperate more on issues concerning Syria, the security of Zionist regime, anti-terrorism work, as well as nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation.
Yet differences between the two remain. Putin admitted that "clearly there are some challenges left" and they "did not agree on all issues."
The two sides did not agree on Ukraine and have not yet reached agreements on arms control and disarmament, said Dmitry Suslov, an expert on Russia-U.S. relations from the international discussion club Valdai.
"When journalists asked about concrete steps for bringing peace for Syria and security of Zionist regime, they didn't present any," said Sarah Pagung, an expert on Russia with the Berlin-based thinktank German Council on Foreign Relations.
"The most concrete results were reached within nuclear weapons control. Even there it was not very concrete, but the presidents gave explicit promises about trying to reach results in that sector," said Teija Tiilikainen, director of the Finnish Institute for International Affairs.
At the press conference, Putin seemed to have offered to extend the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, which limits long-range nuclear arms, but Trump has been noncommittal.
The treaty, to expire in 2021, has won bipartisan support in the U.S. Congress for extension unless replaced by a better one. The extension of the treaty was thought possible before the meeting by analysts.
Instead of resolving specific issues, Trump and Putin agreed to jointly study or explore potential solutions to their confrontations.