The BDN Opinion section operates independently and does not set news policies or contribute to reporting or editing articles elsewhere in the newspaper or on bangordailynews.com

Kenneth Hillas is an adjunct professor at the University of Maine Graduate School of Policy and International Affairs, teaching seminars on global politics and U.S. foreign policy. He retired in 2013 as a senior Foreign Service officer and his posts included Moscow. The views expressed in this column are the author’s alone and do not represent those of UMaine.

The perceived political success of all summits depends on managing expectations. In recent days, President Donald Trump has downplayed expectations of a ceasefire agreement between Russia and Ukraine or a land-swap deal, which he mooted initially in an

See Full Page