Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin have House of Cards-esque handshake at G20 summit that is eerily similar to Netflix drama
DONALD Trump's meeting with Vladimir Putin has been compared to a scene from Netflix political drama House of Cards.
One particular exchange between the US and Russian presidents appeared strikingly similar to a sequence from the show where Kevin Spacey's Frank Underwood reaches out to shake the hand of fictional Kremlin boss Viktor Petrov.
The character of Petrov is known to be a rather heavy-handed reference to the real-life Moscow strongman.
Trump said he had been discussing "lots of positive things" with Putin and insisted "it's all going well' during their official exchange in front of the world's press.
The firebrand Republican told the Russian leader that "it's an honour to be with you" before the powerful pair had further talks away from the cameras at the event in Germany.
Earlier Trump was pictured energetically pumping the hand of Putin grabbing the palm of the Kremlin strongman with his iconic double-handed shake.
Body language expert Judi James said the brash American "dominated" the exchange prompting the Moscow leader to symbolically "draw a weapon" by pointing his finger at Trump.
The powerful pair are expected to discuss hot topics such as the Syrian conflict, North Korea and Russia’s annexation of Crimea during the event in Hamburg.
Both men have said they want to try and repair relations between Russia and American which Trump recently described as being at an “all time low.”
In Washington, Trump’s critics on both side of the political divide will be hoping that he raises the issue of Russian meddling in the presidential election.
US intelligence agencies agree that the Kremlin interfered in the American democratic process by launching cyber attacks against Hillary Clinton’s doomed campaign and promoting fake news on social media.
But while visiting Poland yesterday, Trump again refused to accept the conclusion by the 17 separate US spy agencies that Russia interfered to try to help the firebrand Republican sensationally win the presidency last November.
He said: "Nobody really knows for sure."
Yet during his speech in Warsaw, Trump openly criticised Putin's regime, saying it should "cease its destabilising activities in Ukraine and elsewhere, and its support for hostile regimes including Syria and Iran.”
During the much-anticipated G20 meeting, Russia will want the US to return the two compounds in New York and Maryland that were seized by the Obama administration as punishment for the election meddling.
Former KGB spy Putin also wants the US to ease sanctions it imposed on Russia after Moscow annexed the Crimean Peninsula and for its support of separatist elements in Ukraine.
The US wants a resumption of adoptions of Russian children by American parents, which Russia banned in 2012.
High on the agenda will be North Korea's recent firing of a long range ballistic missile, which is capable of carrying a nuclear weapon, into Japanese waters.
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Russia shares a border with the crackpot nation and Trump will be hoping Putin agrees to take a bigger role in stopping dictator Kim Jong-un's nuclear program.
Trump previously claimed on at least nine occasions that he had spoken with Putin either in person or on the phone.
But during the ill-tempered presidential race, the brash billionaire changed tact, and now claims he has never met the Russian leader.
During a July 2016 press conference, Trump said: "I don’t know who Putin is. He said one nice thing about me. He said I'm a genius. I said thank you very much to the newspaper and that was the end of it. I never met Putin.”
Trump has spoken with Mexican president Pena Nieto who he calls a “friend” but insisted he still “absolutely” wants the central American country to pay for border wall.
Trump said “it's great to be with my friend the president of Mexico,” while Nieto said he hopes to continue a "flowing dialogue."
Anti-capitalist demonstrations in Hamburg ahead of the summit have turned violent with police using water cannons.
Shocking footage showed marching anarchists defacing property and throwing flares into parked cars in order to start blazes on residential streets.
It has also been reported that a police station has been firebombed in the German city.
German police confirmed the building had been targeted by "perpetrators of violence".
On Thursday, German riot police fired water cannons and pepper spray at far-left activists after cops were pelted with rocks and flares during the "Welcome to Hell" rally in Hamburg.
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