Trump is confident he understands Putin well, so he did not prepare much for the meeting – WP

U.S. President Donald Trump did not need to prepare extensively for his meeting with Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin because he has been thinking about the topic for a long time and believes he “understands Putin pretty well.

Sources in the White House told this to The Washington Post.

“This isn’t like preparing and studying answers, like: ‘If he does this, you say that.’ What will ensure progress is the president’s ability to read a person and understand his true motives, not just what he says,” one source said.

“This has been in the works for some time, so it’s not like cramming for an exam before a flight. Presidential phone calls have limited effect, especially when it comes to a deal like this. The desire to sit down and talk in person is an important step toward a final agreement,” a senior White House official stated.

A Kremlin insider told the paper that Moscow has no clear plan for the meeting with Trump.

“Right now, the Kremlin is in a huge, feverish rush,” the insider said, noting that Moscow hopes a personal meeting will work in Putin’s favor.

“Trump and Putin like each other a lot. I’m sure this personal meeting will change the balance of power. It could do a lot. They really like each other and communicate well,” the source assured.

The paper itself described the meeting as follows: “In one chair will sit the American leader, whose improvisational approach often leaves details to others. In the other chair will sit Putin, a former intelligence officer who, officials say, possesses encyclopedic knowledge of the battlefield and a carefully crafted strategy to unsettle fellow leaders.”

Another outlet, CNN, citing a U.S. official, reported that Trump might leave the meeting with Putin early. According to the source, “all options remain on the table” for the Alaska talks, including the U.S. president walking out if he feels Putin is not willing to make a deal.

Trump himself spoke about this the day before.

“We’ll find out where everyone stands, and I’ll know it within the first two, three, four, or five minutes. We generally figure out whether the meeting will be a success or a failure, and if it’s a failure, it will end very quickly; if it’s a success, we’ll achieve peace in the near future,” Trump said.

In the meantime, Trump also expressed hope that “something will come out” of today’s summit in Alaska.