Meeting in the Works for Trump and Putin
BLITZER: President Trump's national security adviser, John Bolton, is heading to Russia potentially paving the way for a pleating between the President Trump and Vladimir Putin next month. Our senior international correspondent, Fred Pleitgen, is joining us now from Moscow with the latest. Fred, so what's the significance of this trip?</s>FRED PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I think it's hugely significant to the Russians, Wolf. It's interesting in the past couple of days, that the Russians really are pretty tight-lipped about when John Bolton was going to come here and what was going to be talked about. And the optics are pretty much clear. It's the Americans who are coming to the Russians. The Russians have this wait-and-see attitude. It's the Americans who are coming to them and trying to make this summit happen. And it's a pattern, Wolf, that we've been seeing over the past couple of weeks, especially since President Trump alienated some of the U.S.'s main allies at a recent G-7 summit, saying he believe that Russia should rejoin the G-7 to make it the G-8 again. The Russians then said, "Look, we don't really need the G-7." So the Russians are showing they don't need this but it is the Americans that are making the advances. At the same time, for the Russians themselves, this meeting would have huge significance as they, of course, try to get concessions from President Trump. For instance, sanctions relief from some of those sanctions that have really been biting the Russian economy, Wolf.</s>BLITZER: -- Fred, see a Trump meeting with Putin potentially as vindication?</s>PLEITGEN: Well, look, I think one of the things that the Russians are seeing, if you look at Russian government and you also look at some of the Russians state media, is that they believe that there are some rifts between the U.S. and its traditional allies, between the Trump administration, for instance, and the Europeans and the Canadians, as well. And they believe that that's something that could strengthen Russia's position. At the same time, there's always been the belief here in Moscow that President Trump does one thing and that some of the people in his administration may see things differently, that he wants better relations with Russia, whereas maybe some don't and that's something that the Russians believe that they could use to their advantage. I want you to listen into a clip from Russian state media from a show called "Sunday Evening" where they said exactly that. Here's what they said.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): Trump and his team regularly go different paths.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): Yes. They've been keeping him away from this meeting for a long time.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): And maybe Trump has his own agenda. So if Bolton brings his own agenda, there is no chance. But if he brings Trump's agenda, here we have options.</s>PLEITGEN: So clearly, they want all this stuff -- and when those two leaders sit down, of course there are going to be some concrete themes that are going to be on the table, Wolf. Syria, no doubt, will be one of them. Then, of course, also the crisis in Ukraine and Crimea. Of course, one of the other things we're going to wait and see is whether or not Russia's meddling in the 2016 election will also be a point that will be talked about, Wolf.</s>BLITZER: A lot at stake. Thanks so much, Fred Pleitgen in Moscow. Coming up, as the Trump administration pushes North Korea on denuclearization, U.S. officials are eager to extract some firm commitments. So what is on the wish list?