President Donald Trump has been accu:sed of using his handshake with President Vladimir Putin to exert control.
They are meeting in an effort to end the conflict in Eastern Europe, something the 79-year-old president has pursued since returning to the White House in January.
Even though his administration has offered extra incentives, such as the mining agreement, these attempts have yielded no effect.
Trump has repeatedly pushed Putin to engage in peace talks and bring the crisis to an end, but the 72-year-old Russian leader has responded by intensifying airstrikes on Ukraine.
In turn, the former billionaire has constantly expressed his dissatisfaction with the situation and issued a number of war:nings.
Now that the two have finally met in Anchorage, Alaska, the mind games have begun, with the Republican obviously pulling Putin towards him.
One Twitter user reported the incident, posting a video of the pair with the caption: “President Trump DOES THE YANK HANDSHAKE! He grabbed Putin’s hand! “I voted for this!”
One user commented: “Trump just asserted dominance before the meeting even started.”
“I know Putin felt that,” another added.
Trump was asked earlier today if he could get Putin to stop attac:king Ukrainian citizens, and he said that he wasn’t sure he could.
Trump answered: “I’ll tell you what. I’ve had that conversation with him. I’ve had a lot of good conversations with him then I go home and I see that a rocket hit a nursing home or a rocket hi:t an apartment building, and people are laying dead in the streets.
“So, I guess the answer to that is no, because I’ve had this conversation. I want to end the w:ar. It’s Biden’s wa:r, but I want to end it.
“I’ll be very proud to end this wa:r, along with the five other wars I ended. But, I guess the answer to that is probably no.”
Speaking to reporters on board Air Force One ahead of the meeting, he was asked what the result would be for Russia if Putin was unable to show a willingness to talk about ending the wa:r in Ukraine.
“Economically severe. It will be very severe,” he said. “I’m not doing this for my health, okay, I don’t need it. I’d like to center on our country, but I’m doing this to save a lot of lives.
“Yeah, very severe.”
That said, Trump didn’t explain what the forfeiture would be for Russia if it wasted his time, adding: “I don’t have to say. There will be very severe consequences.”
