There is currently much speculation as to whether US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin have something like a good personal relationship. Susan Stewart, Senior Fellow in the Eastern Europe Research Group at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP), believes this is a misconception. The idea that Trump and Putin can come up with a „quick deal“ in a personal conversation is also unlikely. This is because „the levers of influence the USA has over Russia are limited,“ analyzes Russia expert Margarete Klein. It is not sufficiently understood in the Trump camp that this war for Russia is „embedded in a longer confrontation with the West.“