Marcin Bogdan: Putin in Deep Defense

From a political point of view Putin was so in a defensive position. Additionally, Donald Trump is under force for indirect sanctions, i.e. customs imposed on countries purchasing gas and oil from Russia. This forced Putin to enter into negotiations, first with the United States and, second, possibly besides directly, with Ukraine. An exceptional humiliation for Putin is that he had to submit to Trump at the outset and agree to the U.S. site of the Alaska meeting. In specified situations, meetings are usually held in 3rd countries, in neutral areas, and Alaska belongs to the United States.

The very fact that we gotta go to the U.S. negotiations is humiliating for Putin. But the additional humiliation is that the meeting, on Friday August 15, is to be held in Alaska, which was erstwhile Russian territory, but was sold in 1867 by Tsar Alexander II to the United States. At the time, as today, Russia felt painfully the financial consequences of its wars, the Crimean War from 1853 to 1856, and the suppression of the January Uprising from 1863 to 1864. In addition, Russia felt force from the UK and feared that, in the event of an armed conflict in Europe under British protectorate Canada, it would easy take Alaska. Therefore, Tsar Alexander II found it better to sale Alaska to the United States than to lose it to Canada. The resulting $7.2 million was crucial for those times, and the transaction additionally built Russian-American relations, in a context to the smoky conflict with the Wlk. Britain.

The story, however, added a further, painful series of events for Russia. Alaska proved to be a land rich in gold, oil and another natural resources. In retrospect, it could be said that Russia went on sale of Alaska like proverbial Zabłocki on soap. For a powerful Russian president, this must be an additional origin weakening his negotiating position. Putin could only hope that individual would unexpectedly put a weapon to Trump's back. Putin could number on Tusk. He may have hoped that at a virtual gathering of European leaders with the president of the United States, there would be any weakening scandal, or possibly even breaking up an anti-Russian coalition. The gathering was attended by leaders of Germany, France, large Britain, the European Commission, NATO, Ukraine and Poland. But Poland represented Karol Nawrocki, who was barely sworn into the Office of the president of Poland, in these talks, the key talks for possible peace in Europe. And Donald Tusk, the king of Europe, whom, as he himself said, no 1 would ogre, stayed with his pistol at home, just as Himilsbach stayed with English in a well-known joke. Putin was in a deep defensive position. Before the negotiations in Alaska began, there was a spectacular disaster, both Putin and Tusk.

Mr Bogdan