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WASHINGTON, July 7-- U.S. President Donald Trump's much-anticipated meeting Friday with Russian President Vladimir Putin is considered a success by U.S. experts, who note that the two leaders cut a deal on the war in Syria. Indeed, Friday's meeting, on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Hamburg, Germany, saw the two leaders strike a ceasefire agreement in parts of Syria, in a bid to begin to curb the bloodshed that has impacted both sides in the war-torn Middle Eastern nation. U.S. experts called the meeting, overall, a success, and said it may foreshadow future U.S.-Russia cooperation. "Trump had a successful meeting with Putin. The two leaders announced a limited ceasefire in parts of Syria. If it holds, that would be a hopeful sign of further cooperation on that delicate issue. So many people have suffered in Syria that it is important each side do what it can to alleviate the human suffering," Brookings Institution Senior Fellow Darrell West told Xinhua. Indeed, bilateral meetings on the sides of G20 meetings usually last 30 minutes at the longest. But with the two leaders meeting for over two hours, the meeting was considered a marathon. "The goal of this meeting was to form a personal relationship with Putin that leads to agreements down the road. There are many issues where each country needs the help of the other. Anything that facilitates a dialogue is worthwhile from the standpoint of each leader," West said. | 
