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 Open letter from two Finnish journalists to the presidents of the United States and Russia: Europea
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08:35 AM July, 16 2018 سودانيز اون لاين
Hassan Farah-جمهورية استونيا
مكتبتى
رابط مختصر Open letter from two Finnish journalists to the presidents of the United States and Russia: European matters should not be decided over the ######### of Europeans
The Helsingin Sanomat reporters Saska Saarikoski and Laura Saarikoski welcome the ######### of states to Helsinki – and remind them that it takes two to tango
Saska Saarikoski HS Laura Saarikoski HS
Julkaistu: 15.7. 2:00 , Päivitetty: 15.7. 8:46
Dear President Donald Trump and President Vladimir Putin,
For many foreigners, it comes as a surprise that we Finns are passionately in love with the Argentinian tango. In summer, fiery tango tunes are playing in outdoor dance pavilions throughout the country. For this reason, we remember very well how US President Ronald Reagan compared the negotiations between world powers to a tango, which takes two.
As President Donald Trump and President Vladimir Putin are now preparing for their own tango in Helsinki, we Finns are glad to be able to offer a summery setting for the event. Soon, we will see which President takes the lead in the dance and which is led.
For Finns, the summit evokes memories of past encounters. The leaders of world powers have often arrived in Helsinki in a tense mood, but have then left the city with a smile. There was a time when this phenomenon was termed "the spirit of Helsinki".
This time, however, the progress of the meeting is exceptionally hard to predict, as things have been quickly changing in both Russia and the United States.
Finns have long been worried about the developments in Russia. Our neighboring country seems to have chosen a policy of putting national power and prestige above democracy and civic freedoms. As a neighbor of Russia, Finland has expressed its worries about it.
This kind of criticism is not anti-Russian but rather pro-Russian. During the one hundred years of our independence, we Finns have learned how strong a foundation democracy, rule of law, and free civic activity can provide for the development of society. These are the same good things that we wish for Russians too.
The United States is more remote from Finland in terms of geography, but mentally it is close. The United States is a good friend that has supported stability and security everywhere in Europe, including in our neighboring regions.
However, recent developments in the United States have worried Europeans, including us Finns.
President Trump is not afraid of rocking the boat. Last week, he repeated his demand for Europeans to assume more responsibility for their own security. We Finns understand this kind of talk, as we have taken care of our own defense in times of both war and peace.
What is difficult to understand is the fact that President Trump has threatened and intimidated friendly countries while speaking warmly of autocratic leaders, and even of a tyrant like North Korea’s Kim Jong-un.
In the United States, Trump's soft line on Russia has been characterized as ”Finlandization”, which is a term that refers to the careful policy of non-alignment that was adopted by Finland after World War II. We Finns have never liked this term. However, Finland had clear reasons for the policy it developed in the Cold War. It is more difficult, however, to guess what the motives of the current US leadership could be.
The United States used to have a strong and principled line toward Russia, while we Europeans have sought to smooth out the differences. Now, however, Europeans are afraid that the United States will take this line too far, well beyond what Europe has done.
In foreign policy, President Trump often seems to be in search of short-term political benefit at the expense of US allies, the international community, and the long-term interests of his own country. This is a cause for worry before the presidential summit – especially since the other side of the table is occupied by such a skilled negotiator as Putin.
This assessment does not stem from anti-American sentiment, but rather precisely from respect toward the United States. We know that Americans themselves have very different opinions on the direction of their foreign policy. Like many times before, the sharpest criticism of the United States right now is coming from Americans themselves.
The US has become the leading country in the world because it has usually managed to balance its great powers with wisdom and self-restraint. It is just like Pippi Longstocking, the strongest girl in the world, says: If you are very strong, you must be very nice – otherwise, nothing will go right.
This does not mean that the United States has not benefited from the world order it has created. It has benefited from it quite a lot.
Russia and the United States have recently started resembling each other in ways that are sometimes surprising. One of these is the way in which both countries' leaders wish to edit reality to suit their own preferences, even at the expense of the facts. As a small country, Finland has never had the luxury of doing this. Instead, we believe, to quote the words of our former President J. K. Paasikivi, that acknowledging reality is the beginning of all wisdom.
It is currently difficult to expect a quick turn for the better in the relations between Russia and the West, as the East and the West see the world from completely different viewpoints. If the West wishes to influence Russia, it must change the result of the calculations being made in the Kremlin, either by increasing the price of unwelcome actions or by rewarding a real and genuine change of course. As Ronald Reagan showed in the 1980s, this is the only efficient way of influencing Russia.
Pressuring Russia would require a persistent policy led by the United States and a solid front of Western allies, but neither of these is anywhere to be seen. For this reason, Putin arrives in Helsinki with a whole bunch of aces up his sleeve.
As the summit nears, there have been warnings that the US may make real concessions in exchange for a bit of glib publicity and empty promises. Some have even raised the specter of a new Yalta where Trump and Putin would divide the world between them in spheres of influence. This worry shows the kind of dread the inconsistent policy of the United States has caused. Hopefully everyone will nevertheless understand that European matters can no longer be agreed on ove over the ######### of Europeans.
It is perhaps due to our location in the North, but we Finns are used to thinking that things are rarely so bad that they cannot get even worse. The deterioration of US–Russian relations is not beneficial to anyone. For this reason, the Helsinki summit is important despite all of the difficulties.
Donald and Vladimir, the floor is yours, let's tango!
https://www.hs.fi/ulkomaat/art-2000005756175.html
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Re: Open letter from two Finnish journalists to the presidents of the United Sta (Re: Hassan Farah)
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Trump blames bad Russia ties on FBI 'witch hunt'
US President Donald Trump set the scene for his summit with Vladimir Putin on Monday by blaming the chill in relations with Moscow on the investigation into Russian interference in his election victory.
"Our relationship with Russia has NEVER been worse thanks to many years of US foolishness and stupidity and now, the Rigged Witch Hunt!" Trump tweeted, referring to US special prosecutor Robert Mueller's probe.
Last week, Mueller indicted 12 Russian intelligence officers accused of hacking computer servers belonging to Trump's 2016 election rival Hillary Clinton and her Democratic Party, then leaking private emails to damage her campaign.
Trump has furiously denied his campaign colluded in the alleged interference, and has generally denounced the special investigation as a "witch hunt" promoted by his enemies to delegitimise his victory.
At the same time, the US leader has promised to bring up the issue on Monday at his summit with Putin in Helsinki.
What do Putin and Trump expect from the Helsinki summit؟
Russian President Vladimir Putin and his US counterpart Donald Trump will meet in Finland on Monday for their first one-on-one summit.
With relations between their two countries at lows not seen since the Cold War, the pair will have their work cut out to bring anything positive out of the meeting.
What are Moscow and Washington actually hoping to get from the talks؟
The view from Moscow
The fact that the meeting is happening at all is already a win for the Kremlin, which has long sought a summit but has been pushed back by Washington, analyst Andrei Baklitsky said.
The conflicts in Syria and Ukraine, as well as alleged meddling in the US election and Western sanctions are bones of contention between the countries. Baklitsky said he expected few "groundbreaking decisions" from the summit.
A joint declaration was as much as anyone could hope for, he added.
Political analyst Alexei Malashenko suggested that for Putin, the meeting was "an informal recognition of Russia as a great power".
Putin might try to convince Trump to take a "more flexible" position on war-ravaged Syria in the hope that Washington would be less active in the country, Malashenko said.
Any compromise on that region would be seen as a victory for Moscow, he added.
The US will want to convince Moscow that Iranian forces should leave Syria, but Putin is "probably not ready" to jeopardise relations with Tehran over the issue, he said.
In any case the topic is easier for the two leaders to discuss than the ongoing conflict in the east of ex-Soviet Ukraine, which is a much more sensitive issue for Russia.
In terms of election meddling, Baklitsky said Russia would deny -- as it long has -- interfering in the 2016 US presidential vote that brought Trump to power.
But Moscow might be willing to issue a joint statement pledging not to carry out any such activity in the future.
The view from Washington
US analysts suggested the value for Trump was in putting himself at the centre of US foreign policy.
"He wants to be perceived as the one who makes these decisions, that he makes them unilaterally, that he is the crucial dealmaker," said William Pomeranz, deputy director of the Wilson Center's Kennan Institute.
"It's the perception that is the most important for Trump rather than what he actually receives," he told AFP.
Pomeranz anticipated a joint statement coming out of the meeting.
Alina Polyakova, a foreign policy fellow at the Brookings Institution in Washington, agreed that Trump would use the summit as an opportunity to boost his domestic standing.
"What will Trump be able to sell as a win with Russia؟ Basically that 'Obama has screwed up this relationship and I've made it right'," she said.
"'Russia is not a threat to us because I've personally made this connection with Putin and we see eye-to-eye.'"
But William Courtney, an adjunct senior fellow at the non-partisan Rand Corporation in Washington, said Trump might try to secure some minor deliverable agreements.
He cited as examples the possible re-opening of the US consulate in Saint Petersburg and the Russian one in San Francisco.
It was less likely that Trump might try to strike some sort of grand bargain with Russia, such as recognition of Russian-annexed Crimea in return for Moscow using its influence to get Iranian militias out of Syria, Courtney said.
Olga Oliker, senior adviser and director of the Russia and Eurasia Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said there were three mutually beneficial topics the two leaders could discuss.
These would be the extension of the new START arms reduction treaty, the protection of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, and the establishment of better military-to-military communications on a range of topics.
https://www.timeslive.co.za/news/world/2018-07-16-trump-blames-bad-russia-ties-on-fbi-witch-hunt/https://www.timeslive.co.za/news/world/2018-07-16-trump-blames-bad-russia-ties-on-fbi-witch-hunt/
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Hassan Farah
فيس بوك
تويتر
انستقرام
يوتيوب
بنتيريست