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U.S. President Donald Trump's much-anticipated meeting Friday with Russian President Vladimir Putin is considered a success by U.S. experts, who note that the two leaders cut a deal on the war in Syria.
Indeed, Friday's meeting, on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Hamburg, Germany, saw the two leaders strike a ceasefire agreement in parts of Syria, in a bid to begin to curb the bloodshed that has impacted both sides in the war-torn Middle Eastern nation.
U.S. experts called the meeting, overall, a success, and said it may foreshadow future U.S.-Russia cooperation.
"Trump had a successful meeting with Putin. The two leaders announced a limited ceasefire in parts of Syria. If it holds, that would be a hopeful sign of further cooperation on that delicate issue. So many people have suffered in Syria that it is important each side do what it can to alleviate the human suffering," Brookings Institution Senior Fellow Darrell West told Xinhua.
Indeed, bilateral meetings on the sides of G20 meetings usually last 30 minutes at the longest. But with the two leaders meeting for over two hours, the meeting was considered a marathon.
"The goal of this meeting was to form a personal relationship with Putin that leads to agreements down the road. There are many issues where each country needs the help of the other. Anything that facilitates a dialogue is worthwhile from the standpoint of each leader," West said.
The meeting came at a time when the United States needs Russia's help in Syrian issue and towards the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK).
"Each issue is at a delicate stage and it would be good if there were conversations between the two countries on how to move forward," West said, noting that the meeting lasted far-longer than initially anticipated.
"That probably means they were able to address several different issues," West said of the lengthy closed-door meeting.
But at the same time, there was no agreement on how to tamp down growing tension on the Korean Peninsula, which is a key concern of the White House and U.S. allies Japan and the Republic of Korea (ROK).
The United States and Russia view the issue differently, with Russia wanting the DPRK to freeze its nuclear program where it is, while the White House wants Pyongyang to cease and roll back the program entirely. The DPRK maintains it will not give up its nuclear program.
Dan Mahaffee, senior vice president and director of policy at the Center for the Study of the Presidency and Congress, told Xinhua that this was a longer negotiation that might reflect a larger desire by Putin to drive a broader, global discussion about U.S. and Russian interests and spheres of influence.
"While details are sketchy, it does appear that Trump does want to further cooperation with Russia in terms of combatting terrorism," Mahaffee said.
As the administration has long hoped to bring Russia further into the fold in combating the Islamic State terror group, there are still outstanding issues to be resolved in terms of the fate of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and Russia's relationship with Iran, as well as Iran's affiliated groups in the region, Mahaffee said.
The meeting was considered Trump's first major test of whether he can improve U.S. relations with Russia, as ties have been chilly in recent years, amid sanctions against Moscow.
Trump campaigned last year on promises to mend relations with the Kremlin, in a bid to team up with Russia to defeat the terror group Islamic State, given Russia's clout in the Middle East.
(ASIA PACIFIC DAILY)
