After weeks of build-up, US president Donald Trump will hold his first meeting with Russian president Vladimir Putin, a sit-down that will be shadowed by the investigations into whether
After weeks of build-up, US president Donald Trump will hold his first meeting with Russian president Vladimir Putin, a sit-down that will be shadowed by the investigations into whether Mr Trump’s campaign coordinated with Moscow during last year’s presidential election.
The leaders are expected to delve into a series of vexing foreign policy issues, including the conflict in Syria and Russia’s provocations in Ukraine.
But much of the focus – both in Washington and Moscow – will be on whether Mr Trump broaches the issue of Russia’s meddling in the election.
Before the meeting on Friday, Mr Trump told reporters he was looking forward to the visit, saying there was “much to discuss”.
Earlier, he again refused to accept the conclusion by multiple US intelligence agencies that Russia interfered to try to help Mr Trump win last November. During a public appearance in Poland a day earlier, Mr Trump said it could have been Russia, but that other countries could have meddled, too.
“Nobody really knows for sure, ” Mr Trump said.
US politicians and federal investigators continue to look into Russia’s election interference, along with possible collusion between Mr Trump campaign associates and Russian government officials.
That puts Mr Trump under intense scrutiny over how he handles the sit-down with Mr Putin, a former Russian intelligence agent known to come to meetings like this well-prepared.
The White House has scheduled 35 minutes for the meeting, raising questions about how much ground the leaders can be expected to cover.
Mr Trump, who likes to have neatly packaged achievements to pair with high-profile meetings, may seek some concessions from Russia to show he’s delivering progress and helping restore a once-productive relationship that he recently described as being at an “all-time low.”
Mr Putin would almost certainly want something in return.
The list of issues ranges from Syria to Iran to Ukraine, and now North Korea, following Pyongyang’s test this week of a missile capable of striking the US.
Russia wants the US to return the two compounds in New York and Maryland that were seized by the Obama administration as punishment for election meddling. It also wants the US to ease sanctions it imposed on Russia after Mr Putin annexed the Crimean Peninsula, and over Russia’s support of separatist elements in Ukraine.
The US wants a resumption of adoptions of Russian children by American parents, which Russia banned in 2012, along with an end to what it claims is intensifying harassment of US diplomats and other officials stationed in Russia.
Politicians in both political parties say Mr Trump must confront Mr Putin over the election.
Several senior Democratic senators served notice on Thursday that Mr Trump would be in “severe dereliction” of his presidential duty if he fails to confront Putin over the issue, telling Mr Trump in a letter that he must make clear that Russia’s interference in US democracy will not be tolerated.
“The upcoming elections cannot be a playground for President Putin, ” said Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York; Dick Durbin of Illinois, the Senate’s No 2 Democrat; and the top Democrats on the Intelligence, Armed Services, and Foreign Relations committees.
Representative Adam Kinzinger, a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said this week that he will “raise holy hell” if Mr Trump goes soft on Mr Putin.
“It is very important for us to make a statement that Russia does not meddle not just in our elections, here and the future, but in our allies, ‘” he said.
AP
