Angela Stent Previews Trump-Putin summit

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Last night we had a meeting This is with Surveillance Senior executive producer Eric Molow, Herder of Interns, yep, it's his new title, Herder of Interns. And we had a list of people and at the top of the list on Putin Trump in Alaska was Angela's Stent, her book Putin's World is absolutely definitive. We are beyond honored to have a conversation this morning with Angela Stent. Angela, if you were in Alaska for this meeting, what would you listen for from the.

Two Well, I'm listening to see what it is that Putin is proposing to President Trump, and so far it seems that, you know, Ukraine is supposed to see territory to Russia that Russia doesn't even control and really not get very much a return, maybe a freezing of the cattle lines. And with Trump, I'm listening to see does he under really understand that Putin isn't willing to stop this war and that he's being played. So those are the things that I would be listening to.

And I look Angela at this and of course in the Zeitgeist this morning, is the build article in Germany that they got the translation run.

Do we have the process and apparatus to prepare for Friday's meeting? I mean, do we have said administration in place that can do this?

So so far it doesn't appear that we do. I mean, normally these kinds of summits are well prepared in advance, they're experienced diplomats or involved in them. This is the result of, you know, a long conversation between Stephen Whitcoff, not a diplomat, not an expert on Russia, and Vladima Putin.

We don't know the.

Contents of it, and so we are really left in the dark about what the process is in this. And the concern is that President Trump will be and then he doesn't have all the backing he needs and the and the understanding going into this about what Pudent's actually trying to do.

What is the role if any, for President Zelenski.

Well, so far, President Zelenski of course, has been excluded from this. The US and Russia are talking about his own country. President Trump has spoken to him, He's in he Zelensky is in very close contact with the Europeans. The Europeans are trying to impress on President Trump that he has to go into this clear eye and realistic about what Putin is.

Trying to do.

But to think about two countries trading away another country's territory without that country being present, I think that bears a lot of thinking about.

Does President Putin have any intention to sign a ceasefire on Friday or even discussing.

I very much doubt it.

I think what he's trying to do is to probe and see how much he can get from President Trump.

So I would not hold you breath on.

That, Angela. I get the drama.

Max put writes it up in the Washington Post and others, and we don't need to do a history lesson in nineteen thirty eight Munich where Neville Chamberlain gave away a piece of Czechoslovakia and look what happened. But do you see that moment here? I mean, these two world leaders, do we, Angela? Do we know where they're going to meet in Alaska? Yet?

I don't know where they're going to meet in Alaska?

And it's interesting, Sofa Putin, all he has to do is fly over Russia if he were to meet Trump. In many other places he probably couldn't because there are a lot of countries he can't fly over because it's interesting interesting.

So we don't know.

Okay, so maybe they're going to meet on those two islands. They can wave at each other across the bearing straight Angela's stent discuss what's in the zeitgeist this morning of illusions to two years before World War Two.

Well, I think you know, two years before World War two, if you think about Neville Chamberlain, I mean, he was trying to poss bone of war because you know, he and he believed that if he just gave Hitler what he wanted, which was you know, talking about what was happening to the Zudate land, then there wouldn't be a war.

I think we may still be at that point.

I think there's a not a full comprehension among the in the Trump administration that you know that from Putin, the subordination of Ukraine is the goal now, but it's the first step towards really retaking influence and land in what used to be the former Soviet Union, and Putin has expansionist aims, and I think maybe in nineteen thirty eight, mister Chamberlain didn't understand exactly what Hitler's expansionist aims were. So I think people need to understand what this is about.

Yet.

It seems, Angela, that most world leaders around the world have bent their need to President Trump, whether it's on tariffs other issues. That's not the case with mister Putin. How does he how do you think he've used President Trump and the administration.

Well, I think he believes that mister Trump really wants to have a better relationship with Russia. Trump started out by saying we need to reset and improve relations. I think the Russians understand that there's inconsistency in the positions of the Trump administration. They're going to push as far as they can. This is the old, if you like Soviet style of negotiation. What's mine is mine and what

Wants, angel Ston, On the cover of your book, Putin's World, folks, it was my book. I think I can't remember, Paul if it was Book of the Year, Book of the whatever. Read the book Putin's World. Angela Stent with a new chapter out now. Bill Burns, who has a little bit of experience at CIA, says Putin's World is a definitive guide to understanding the tangled history of post Cold War

It may well be.

I mean, you've seen the pictures of mister Whitcoff, and mister Whitcoff putting his hand on his.

Heart, smiling, shaking his hand.

I don't know what President Trump will do, but it's not going to be this long table, so that will be smiles at least for the public.

As Oh, you're not old enough to remember this.

I remember when Khrushchef took a shoe off and pounded in the UN. Have we treated Khrushchef or Bresenham or Stalin or dare I say Lenin? Have we treated them like the administrations treating mister Putin. It's absolutely original, isn't it.

Oh, it's completely original. No, we were very suspicious of them. They were communists. We knew that they were at least officially committed to taking over the world.

We were very wary with them.

Having said that, you know, Nixon and Brezhnev, you know, did shake each other's hands, where all smiles. Bresna visited the US drove around in big costs, so there was some of that. But this is a very different feel to what it was like, I mean during the Cold War.

This is just it's like the new season of slow Horses.

I mean, mister Trump and mister Woodcoff and all should just watch slow horses.

I mean, that's what the That's how they got prepared for.

So, Angela, is there a scenario here where I don't know, some kind of deal gets signed between Russia and President Trump? And if I'm a Ukraine, I'm just sitting on the outside saying what.

Do I do here?

I mean, that is that even.

Definitely a scenario.

I mean, the Russian goal is to sign and agreeing with President Trump it's favorable toward Russia, and then blame the Ukrainians if it doesn't work out, because the Ukrainians are not going to sign onto a deal that status are advantageous for them, and the Europeans are going to back them in this. So that's definitely a scenario that some deal is signed between the US and Russia, but in fact the Ukrainians won't accept it.

And just one final serious question. Then this goes back to mister Gates and Condaliza Rice. I believe in Belgrade. I mean, I get it. There's territory in eastern Ukraine and they've got four acres of Russia.

Da da da.

It comes back to the emotion of Crimea. Will that even be discussed at this meeting about the sheer reality of Crimea on the Black Sea?

I don't know whether it'll be discussed, but it really doesn't seem to be an issue. I mean, I think the Trump administration is assuming that the Ukrainians can't do anything about the annexation of Crimea, and that they will at least day facto.

I have to recognize you.

Need from Secretary Rubio.

Well, I think Secretary Rubio needs to, you know, to make sure that concessions are not made to Putin that are not warranted. He seems to he I think I understands the situation pretty well. He was previously at least a hawk on Russia, so he needs to somehow be a restraining factor in this.

Wonderful This was great, Paul Angela's den, thank you so much. On Putin's World, we begin our coverage of this historic summit. Meeting is scheduled for Friday. David Girl will join us later in the show this morning to provide further briefing. It is a story on a move to say the least,