1. Donald Trump vs. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un....CONTINUE READING THE FULL ARTICLE>>>
The handshake between Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Singapore was historic.
Whatever they discussed in their closed-door one-on-one encounter, whether they signed a pact or not, whatever the summit’s final outcome was, the two sitting together and shaking hands made history.
But no one should be so stupid as to believe that a problem with decades of history can be fixed with a single handshake or meeting. In the future, we can expect more ups and downs, shocks, and perhaps threats from both sides. Here, both wisdom and patience are required.
2. Kim Jong Un and Moon Jae (2018)
As the world watched, Kim Jong Un and Moon Jae-in clasped hands across the Military Demarcation Line that separates the two Koreas on April 27, 2018, the culmination of an extraordinary thought on the peninsula began by the Winter Olympics two years ago.
The two leaders pledged to work toward a lasting peace and total denuclearization of Korea’s divided peninsula.
A scenario that seemed unthinkable only a few years ago is now a possibility. On April 27th, 2018, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un met South Korean President Moon Jae-in at the world’s most heavily fortified border, clothed in his customary black Mao suit.
At the Demarcation Line Zone, which separates the North from the South, the two leaders impulsively clasped hands and posed for photographs. Both Kim and Moon proceeded to Panmunjom’s Peace House, where the historic summit was held.
Moon Jae-in said to Kim Jong-un, “I am delighted to meet you.” Since the Korean War ended in 1953, Kim Jong-un has become the first North Korean leader to go across to the southern side of the Demilitarized Zone.
Kim Jong-un and Moon Jae-in have agreed to meet to discuss issues with global ramifications, such as denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, a formal peace accord, and improving bilateral relations.
The conclusions of this meeting were supposed to determine whether or not Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un would meet again in the future.
Fidel Castro and Barack Obama. – (2013)
On December 10, 2013, at a memorial service for Nelson Mandela, US President Barack Obama made news when he shook hands with Cuban President Raul Castro, the first such public greeting between the hostile neighbors in decades.
A quick thaw occurred within months. In July 2015, full diplomatic contacts were restored, followed by previously inconceivable moves to heal relationships.
Obama visited Cuba in 2016, making it the first time an American president has done so in 88 years.
4. Martin McGuinness and Queen Elizabeth I (2012)
Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II met Martin McGuinness, a former top leader in the paramilitary Irish Republican Army during the many years of violent battles with British forces, in a watershed event in the Northern Ireland peace process.
The IRA intended British authority in the province to end and the province to be absorbed into the Republic of Ireland. Later, McGuinness was one of the figures that helped arrange a cease-fire.
With McGuinness’ violent history and British security operations still a source of rage for many, it was a step toward reconciliation that would have been unthinkable just a few years ago.
5. Yasser Arafat and Yitzhak Rabin (1993)
On September 13, 1993, Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat appeared on the South Lawn of the White House to witness the signing of the Oslo Accords after months of covert discussions in Norway.
Arafat and Rabin then shook hands in one of the most dramatic moments in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, with US President Bill Clinton’s arms spread around both leaders.
Rabin, on the other hand, was assassinated two years later by a Jewish extremist who was hostile to the peace process, which had stalled in the years thereafter.
Menachem and Anwar Sadat (1977)
Egyptian President Anwar Sadat paid a historic visit to Israel on November 19, 1977, widely regarded as a watershed moment in Middle East history. He was the first Arab head of state to visit the Jewish state.
The visit resulted in the signing of the first Arab-Israeli peace deal, thus ending a 30-year war between the two countries.
Sadat, on the other hand, was assassinated by Islamists in 1981.
7. Raila Amollo Odinga and President Uhuru Kenyatta (2018)
Without a question, ODM leader Raila Odinga is the personification of the opposition in the minds of most Kenyans. Despite this, he clearly stands out as the biggest State apologist today, because to the handshake that resolved the animosity between him and President Uhuru Kenyatta.
Nobody knows for sure, and we don’t have any evidence as to who approached whom. We also don’t know what Jubilee and Uhuru stand to gain by teaming up with Raila, whom they slammed and roasted during the elections as a dinosaur politician whose time has passed..CONTINUE READING>>