It's official: On July 16, US President Donald Trump and Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin will meet in Helsinki. DW's Miodrag Soric already knows who will come out on top.
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Image: picture-alliance/dpa/AP
What will Donald Trump be able to achieve at a summit with Vladimir Putin? Very little. Russia will by no means withdraw from Crimea. It will continue to support rebels in eastern Ukraine, as well as President Bashar Assad and Iranian troops in Syria. And Trump will not be able to change much, if anything, when it comes to Putin's "Russia first" policy.
The Kremlin leader, on the other hand, can expect to gain a great deal from a Russia-US summit. When he and Trump meet to talk about international issues, TV images the world over will covey the same message: two politicians negotiating on an equal footing. Putin will score points with this summit, with or without results.
Forbes magazine ranked Russian President Vladimir Putin as the most powerful person of 2016 - followed by US President-elect Donald Trump. This picture gallery shows different aspects of Putin's personality.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa
From KGB to Kremlin
Putin joined the KGB, the former Soviet Union's security agency, in 1975. In the 1980s he undertook his first foreign posting as a KGB agent to Dresden, Germany. After the fall of the Berlin Wall, Putin returned to Russia and entered Boris Yeltsin's Kremlin. When Yeltsin announced that he wanted Putin as his successor, the way was paved for him to become prime minister.
Image: picture alliance/dpa/M.Klimentyev
First presidency
On his appointment, Putin was virtually unknown to the general public. This changed when in August 1999 armed men from Chechnya invaded the neighboring Russian territory of Dagestan. President Yeltsin appointed ex-KGB officer Putin to bring Chechnya back under the central government's control. On New Year's Eve, Yeltsin unexpectedly resigned and named Putin as acting president.
Image: picture alliance/AP Images
Tough guy in the media
During an exhibition hockey game in Sochi, Putin’s team won 18-6, with the president scoring eight goals.
Image: picture-alliance/AP/A. Nikolsky
Limited freedom of speech
A protester wears a tape over his mouth reading "Putin" during an opposition rally. In 2013 the Kremlin announced that the state-owned news agency, RIA Novosti, was to be restructured and placed under the control of a pro-Kremlin figure known for his extreme anti-Western views. Reporters without Borders ranked Russia as 148 in its list of 178 countries in terms of press freedom.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/V.Maximov
Putin's Image: A man of action
Putin's image as a man of action, boosted by his having been a KGB spy, has long been part of his appeal in Russia. It is carefully maintained by means of photos where he is seen bare-chested on horseback, or tossing opponents onto a judo mat. In Russia, Putin has earned praise for restoring stability but has also been accused of authoritarianism.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/A. Nikoskyi
Stifling democracy
When President Putin's United Russia party won a landslide victory in parliamentary elections in 2007, critics described the vote as neither free nor democratic. Dozens were detained as riot police broke up protests by demonstrators accusing President Putin of stifling democracy. In this rally the poster reads: "Thank you, no!"
Image: Getty Images/AFP/Y.Kadobnov
Orchestrated events
In Sevastopol, Crimea, Putin looks through the window of a research bathyscaphe in the waters of the Black Sea. This dive in a mini-submarine was only one of his adventurous stunts; he has also been seen tranquilizing wild tigers and flying with endangered cranes. It was also aimed at cementing his image as an adventurer, and demonstrating his control of the annexed territory of Crimea.
Image: Reuters/A. Novosti/RIA Novosti/Kremlin
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American-Russian compromises?
At the same time, with such a summit Putin is dividing the Western camp even further. Britain's goal of isolating Russia after the Skripal affair has been frustrated by its "big brother" on the other side of the Atlantic.
Ukrainians will also be left feeling duped, if not betrayed, by the US. Although, Kyiv should acknowledge that Washington has only ever supported Ukraine with strong words — rarely with new funds. Putin could be prepared to make concessions in the Ukraine conflict, but only if the Americans give up their opposition to the Russia-Germany Nordstream 2 gas pipeline in the Baltic Sea in return.
In any case, the US will continue with its sanctions on Russia after the summit. For procedural reasons, the US Congress isn't able to retract the sanctions from one day to the next. And at the moment, there is no political will in Washington to do so, either.
Ego boost
So why does Trump want this summit? On the one hand, he wants to keep his campaign promises. And that includes improving relations with Russia. On the other hand, Trump seems to need spectacular political productions to satisfy his own ego. Autocrats use such narcissism for their own purposes.
North Korea's dictator Kim Jong Un has hardly moved on the issues that were recently discussed in Singapore. Trump has nevertheless sold that meeting as a historic success. Putin has taken note, and will no doubt follow suit.
