You're listening to Non-Zero World.

I'm your host, Connor Eccles.

Each week, I break down the latest developments in U.S. foreign policy and other global news,

and I interview a leading expert or activist.

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Hey, George, how you doing?

I'm doing well. How are you?

Pretty good. Why don't I go ahead and introduce us? I am Connor Eccles, the managing editor of NonZero, and the host of this Non Zero World, the Friday edition of the Non Zero podcast. You are George Beebe, the director of Grand Strategy at the Quincy Institute and a former head of Russia analysis at the CIA. So you are a perfect guest for our topic for today, which is previewing and talking about

the meeting that will be happening today in Alaska between President Trump and Russian President

Vladimir Putin.

Now, since this is probably going to post either right before the meeting

or probably around the time after or when we're starting to see some results out of it, I'll

try to keep the conversation to topics that will be of interest regardless of what happens

there today. But maybe as a useful table setter, could you talk a little bit about, from your

point of view, what the best

reasonable outcome from today's meetings would look like?

Well, I think the best outcome for this meeting is one that doesn't try to do too much.

It doesn't try to put in place in a median unconditional ceasefire, for example. It doesn't try to wrap up all of the

many issues that have to be negotiated to bring the conflict in Ukraine to an end. And it doesn't

get out ahead of things in the U.S. bilateral relationship with Russia by trying to undertake very ambitious projects

or cooperation that can't be sustained unless and until that war in Ukraine is settled.

...