AILSA CHANG, HOST:
From NPR News, this is ALL THINGS CONSIDERED. I'm Ailsa Chang in Culver City, California.
MARY LOUISE KELLY, HOST:
And I'm Mary Louise Kelly in Anchorage, Alaska, where tomorrow President Trump will meet Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss an end to the war in Ukraine. Now, Trump has long said that his relationship with Putin could help him strike a deal where other mediators have failed. Not that long ago, another American president, George W. Bush, also pursued personal diplomacy and improved relations with Putin. That time things did not exactly work out. I'm going to bring in NPR national political correspondent Don Gonyea, who covered the White House then. Hey, Don.
DON GONYEA, BYLINE: Hey. Glad to be here.
KELLY: Hey, take us into the - I think we're talking the way back machine at this point. Situate us. What was the year? What was happening between the U.S. and Russia?
GONYEA: Well, these two nations - superpowers both - were really two countries still trying to put the Cold War behind them and trying to establish a new relationship going forward. Putin was looking to rehab the image of Russia in the West. He wanted to be seen as an economic player and partner, and as someone committed to freedom and democracy. Bush, who was in his very first months in office, was still finding his footing in the presidency. He would meet Putin at the end of his first trip to Europe as president. Also, worth noting, this was June of 2001, even before the terror attacks of 9/11.
KELLY: OK, so we're back in early 2001. Tell us about the first meeting. This was Slovenia.
GONYEA: Right. It was neutral turf for that first session, which would be the first of 28 meetings between these two leaders. In Slovenia, they met at an old castle. Of course, Putin was relatively new to office as well. And as a former KGB officer, there were lots of questions about whether he could be trusted. At a news conference with both leaders that day, Bush was asked that very thing.
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GEORGE W BUSH: I'll answer the question. I looked the man in the eye. I found him to be very straightforward and trustworthy. And we had a very good dialogue. I was able to get a sense of his soul.
GONYEA: Needless to say, that was the headline, Bush seeing into Putin's soul. Months later, Bush hosted Putin at his ranch down in Texas. It was all very friendly. And there were achievements to point to, like the deal the following spring to reduce nuclear arms stockpiles.
KELLY: OK, so it was all very optimistic. Bush was seeing into Putin's soul. That was early in the Bush years. Then what happened?
GONYEA: It didn't hold. By Bush's second term, he didn't think Putin was living up to his commitments on democratic reforms. There was a moment you could feel the chill during a summit they held in Bratislava, Slovakia. It was 2005. Bush would write in his memoir that at that meeting, Putin told him, don't lecture me. Then in Bush's final year in office, Russia invaded the country of Georgia. After leaving office, Bush would describe Russia as a major disappointment to him.
KELLY: And then, Don, let's skip ahead to now. Today we, of course, have a very different Republican president preparing to meet with Vladimir Putin here in Alaska tomorrow.
GONYEA: That's right - and Trump, our president, who often talks about how he gets along with Putin. And he said just today in a Fox News radio interview that he believes they'll reach a deal on Ukraine in Alaska. He also said pointedly that he'll be able to succeed with Putin where Bush failed.
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PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: I won't do what Bush did - look him in the eye. I'm not going to do that. I'll look him right in the eye, but I'll do a little bit differently than Bush. It didn't work out too well for Bush.
GONYEA: So remains to be seen whether a deal is in reach, but history does show us that a chummy relationship doesn't always translate into progress.
KELLY: NPR's Don Gonyea, bringing us many years' experience on the White House beat there. Thank you, Don.
GONYEA: You're welcome. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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