Trump and Lavrov today need to discuss one, and only one, issue -- extension of the New START Treaty.
We need to extend this treaty primarily to extend the inspections regime in the treaty. Don't trust, only verify !
Ideally, Trump would use his meeting with Lavrov to push back on several belligerent policies, including occupation of Ukraine, support for dictators in Syria and Iran, and a warning to not interfere in our 2020 election. But Trump is not capable of that.
More minimally, Trump should avoid all the back-slapping happy talk of their last Oval office meeting.
So far, despite three years of continued praise for Putin, Trump has not accomplished one tangible deliverable in US-Russia relations. Extending the New START Treaty would give Trump one diplomatic win.
