A lot of people in Washington — and I mean a lot! — aren’t especially pleased with the fact that President Trump will be sitting down next to Russian President Vladimir Putin on July 14, with only a couple of translators, no note-takers to document the conversation, and no advisers present. Bilateral meetings between heads of state are typically highly choreographed affairs; after a few photographs are taken of the two leaders smiling and shaking hands, both go into a conference room with their aides and begin discussions. The aides are included in the dialogue both for insurance purposes and for back-up. Trump, however, is not the kind of man held captive to conventions.

Weeks after his televised confab with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, Trump seems convinced he can look into Putin’s soul (where have we heard that phrase before?) and determine whether there is some commonality of interests Washington and Moscow can collaborate on. According to John Huntsman, the U.S. ambassador to Russia, talking with Putin one-on-one was entirely the president’s idea.