'Trump has no head for details': Kanwal Sibal decodes ongoing confusion over POTUS' meet with Putin

Former Foreign Secretary of India Kanwal Sibal took to social media to decode the ongoing confusion surrounding US President Donald Trump's meeting with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. Sibal said in a post on X that Trump has no head for details in geopolitics, especially the highly complicated US-Russia ties. 

Sibal, who has also served as India's Ambassador to Russia, said that Trump is being pulled in different directions by anti-Russian lobbies within the US and the Europeans. 

"Hardening of Russian position. Trump has, it would appear from what we can see, no head for details and Witkoff, a businessman, has disputable grounding in geopolitics, especially the highly complicated one involving the US and Russia. Hence the confusion. On top of that, Trump is pulled in different directions by internal anti-Russian lobbies and the Europeans, but the Russian side has a more cohesive thinking and approach," he wrote on X. 

Meanwhile, Russian foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov stressed that Moscow is not interested in a meeting unless it produces significant outcomes.

"We have no interest in empty symbolism; a meeting between the presidents must produce real, concrete results. We're ready for that. When Putin and Trump met in Anchorage, we backed the proposals that US envoy Stephen Witkoff had presented in Moscow a week earlier," Lavrov said.

The Kremlin maintains that both sides require careful preparation for such high-level talks, particularly amid ongoing diplomatic challenges. Moreover, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Sunday that two heads of state cannot meet just for the heck of it. 

Peskov was quoted as saying by Reuters, "Presidents cannot meet for the sake of meeting, they cannot just waste their time, and they are open about that. That's why they instructed (Russian Foreign Minister Sergei) Lavrov and (U.S. Secretary of State Marco) Rubio to prepare this process. The process is complicated," he told state television.

Peskov also addressed recent US sanctions on Russian energy firms, calling them "an unfriendly step" that has harmed prospects for improved relations.

Despite these setbacks, Peskov said Moscow still favours engagement. "Our interests are to build good relations with all countries, including the United States," he said.

He added, "The actions that were taken this week were an unfriendly step. They have damaged the prospects for resuscitating our relations. But that does not mean that we should abandon these aspirations. We should do what is favourable to us," Peskov stated.