Reuters (July 17)
Following the 1986 Iceland Summit between Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev, the U.S. ultimately proved the victor. Three decades later, things look different. “Washington had another unparalleled opportunity,” but “the American president was outfoxed by a wily Russian leader playing from a position of unquestioned strength, toying with a deeply damaged counterpart.”
Tags: Damaged, Gorbachev, Iceland, Opportunity, Outfoxed, Putin, Reagan, Strength, Summit, Trump, U.S.
Handelsblatt Global (July 11)
“Donald Trump is in Brussels surrounded by unhappy faces and that’s not just Belgian soccer fans. The US president is attending the summit of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and the rumble started before the first round of coffee.”
Wall Street Journal (June 12)
“Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un both received what they most wanted from their one-day summit in Singapore on Tuesday…. Whether this photo-op summitry achieved anything beyond the bonhomie is a lot less clear.” There is little indication of real progress. In fact, “if the past is a guide, all of this will be subject to painful and perhaps endless negotiation, and the North will insist on concessions from the U.S. at every stage. Having committed to talks, Mr. Trump will be under pressure to make more concessions lest Kim walk away.”
Tags: Concessions, Kim, Negotiation, North Korea, Photo-op, Progress, Singapore, Summit, Trump, U.S.
The Guardian (April 26)
“There is little chance of a concrete agreement of any kind resulting from the summit” between North Korea’s Kim Jong-un and South Korea’s Moon Jae-in on April 27. “Beginning negotiations with a meeting between the two leaders, before any details have been hammered out, is always risky. The meeting will likely be followed by months, if not years, of negotiations at the lower levels before anything is signed.”
Tags: Agreement, Kim Jong Un, Moon Jae-in, Negotiations, North Korea, Risky, South Korea, Summit
Financial Times (November 12)
An unexpected announcement at the summit in Beijing may jump start efforts to combat climate change. “China and the US have set aside nearly 20 years of discord over how to combat climate change and laid out their respective plans to curb greenhouse gas emissions.” The breakthrough may “galvanise efforts to seal a global climate pact at the end of next year in Paris.”
Tags: Beijing, Breakthrough, China, Climate change, Greenhouse gas emissions, Paris, Summit, U.S.
New York Times (September 2)
“More than anyone, President Vladimir Putin of Russia has set the agenda for NATO’s 65th summit meeting this week, which could well be the most consequential since the Cold War ended.” Ironically, his antics may serve to strengthen NATO. He “has forced on it a new and urgent purpose by effectively invading Ukraine and demonstrating his utter disregard for the international system.”
New York Times (September 23)
The U.S. “has made commendable progress in reducing its emissions, and is halfway toward meeting Mr. Obama’s pledge at the Copenhagen climate summit meeting in 2009 to reduce its emissions by 17 percent from 2005 levels by 2020.” Globally, however, progress is not being made. “Steadily increasing atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide, rising sea levels, more violent weather events, persistent droughts…. The burden on the United States to set a positive example is as heavy as ever.”
USA Today (June 7)
Hopefully the top leaders of the U.S. and China can move beyond the recent cyberattacks. “China is fast becoming a dominant world power. The U.S.-China relationship and rivalry will shape the rest of this century. If, as Obama and Xi hold their first summit, both understand this, perhaps they can work out ways to manage and reset the relationship. As with ordinary mortals, there is no better key to success than communication. The more frequent, the more open, the better.”
Tags: China, Cyberattacks, Obama, Summit, U.S., World power, Xi
Financial Times (October 27)
The news from the European summit was encouraging, yet “comprehensive solutions” have been announced before only to fall flat. European leaders still have to get “the scaffolding needed to hold their crisis management strategy together.” They must completely vanquish the financial crisis if they hope to shape Europe’s future by binding “the eurozone’s economies and governance systems much tighter together.”
Tags: Comprehensive solution, eurozone, Summit
