Russian Political Expert: Trump May Not Be Clever Enough to Get Results from Putin

Speaking on a political talk show on July 2, prior to a Trump-Putin meeting at the G20 forum, Russian political expert Sergey Mikheev said that despite expectations, Trump "may not be clever enough to get positive results from a meeting with Putin."

Sergey Mikheev: "Many of us, including those standing here, were emotionally on Trump's side during his presidential campaign. So we would like our hopes [regarding Trump] to come true, but so far, this has not happened. That is why everybody in our country supports, I believe, any (Putin-Trump) agreement. But personally, I do not understand what possible agreements the sides could be talking about. Is any substantial deal being discussed? I haven’t heard about it. I don’t think any [such deal] is being planned at the moment.

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"Trump is trying to achieve something, but we don’t understand what's in his head, because he lacks any systematic approach. On the one hand, we see the huge apparatus of the American ruling class, which is opposed to any deal [with Russia], and tried to dissuade Trump from holding a formal meeting [with Putin], and on the other hand, we see a lonely Trump surrounded by a small circle… He'd probably like to do something, but is afraid that this apparatus will ram into him. In such a situation, there is virtually no hope of reaching any deal. The best case scenario is that they will meet in person and discuss some issues with sincerity. But there is also a risk: Trump, given his emotional moods and his lack of a systematic [approach], might blow up the meeting. He might want to look stronger. He might want to put Putin in his place. Let me remind you how he behaved at the meeting of the NATO leaders. [Trump] may not be clever enough to get positive results from a meeting with Putin."