As the going gets tough for the US President Donald Trump at home he has chosen to get tough about what he believes and implemented it
WASHINGTON, U. S. – As the going gets tough for the U. S. President Donald Trump at home, he has chosen to get tough about what he believes and implemented it.
Over the last two weeks, he has held one of his most controversial diplomatic meetings till date, has flipped out over allies and enemies alike and has defied the strongest bipartisan criticism he has drawn so far in his tenure by doing the complete opposite of what was expected.
Trump met with the Russian President Vladimir Putin in Helisinki last week and was accused of undercutting American intelligence agencies over Russian meddling in the U. S. Presidential elections in front of the Kremlin leader and the rest of the world.
He returned to a politically torn environment in Washington, where even some of his closest allies were raising questions about his open support for Putin’s insistence that Russia did not meddle in the American election.
However, instead of downplaying his ties with the Russian leader until the criticism fades away, Trump instead went two steps ahead to further accentuate his ties with Putin, by inviting him to the White House in the fall, for a sequel to Helsinki.
The White House announcement of the same cause more shock and outrage, and less than a week after the declaration, the Trump administration announced that the meeting had been postponed until next year.
On Thursday, National security adviser John Bolton said that Trump had decided “the next bilateral meeting with President Putin should take place after the Russia witch hunt is over so we’ve agreed that it will be after the first of the year.”
Indicating that he is listening to every statement emerging from the White House and directly from Trump – the Russian President, who was addressing a summit of BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) countries in Johannesburg on Friday issued his own statement on the possible meeting.
Putin told reporters that he and the U. S. president were ready for further summits but conditions needed to be right.
Praising Trump as a leader “who seeks to keep his promises,” the Russian President revealed that he has invited Trump to Moscow, countering an offer to visit the U. S. to hold a possible round two of last week’s Helsinki summit.
Further, Putin directly addressed Trump’s invitation to Washington DC and stressed that while he and the U. S. president are ready for further summits, including at the White House, conditions would need to be right for any meeting to take place.
Putin said, “I understand perfectly that President Trump has a desire to hold further meetings, and I am ready for that. But there would need to be the appropriate conditions.”
Adding, “He has, in fact, the same invitation [to come to Moscow], and I told him so. I am ready to go to Washington but I repeat: if the right conditions will be established.”
Further, Putin, who has repeatedly claimed that he has had many telephonic conversations with Trump, stressed on Friday that telephone calls between Moscow and Washington were insufficient and both sides needed to meet to talk about issues like the Iran nuclear deal and global conflicts.
While Trump continues to draw criticism for his Helsinki stint, Putin, in stark contrast has won widespread praise for his performance in Finland.
The Russian Foreign Minister described Putin’s meeting with Trump as “better than super.”
Commenting on the backlash against Trump in the U. S. post their meeting, Putin pointed out on Friday, that political turbulence in the U. S. would not derail contacts between the two leaders.
He said, “Despite the difficulties, in this particular case, difficulties linked to the internal political situation in the United States, life goes on and our contacts continue.”
Putin added, “It is a great virtue of President Trump that he seeks to keep his promises, first of all those given to voters. As for our meetings, they are useful, I think.”
Showering further praise on the U. S. President, Putin said, “You can critique him for what he does and many people do that but one thing is clear – he is willing to fulfill his campaign promises.”
The Russian President declared that he viewed their meeting in Helsinki as „useful.“
White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders responded to Putin’s statement later in the day and announced that the U. S. president was willing to visit Moscow once he receives a formal invitation.
Sanders said in a statement, “President Trump looks forward to having President Putin to Washington after the first of the year, and he is open to visiting Moscow upon receiving a formal invitation.”
Last week, following the White House declaration that Trump had invited Putin to the White House, a Russian official responded to media questions on the same by saying that the two leaders were likely to meet instead on the sidelines of a G20 summit in Argentina in November.
Meanwhile, on Friday, U. S. defense secretary Jim Mattis clarified that the U. S. had not made any policy changes following the meeting.
In a separate development, Russia’s deputy foreign minister Sergei Ryabkov confirmed that U. S. National Security Adviser John Bolton may meet the secretary of Russia’s Security Council, Nikolai Patrushev, by the end of summer.
According to Ryabkov, a meeting between Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov was also being discussed but there had been some difficulties over scheduling.
Snubbing widespread criticism in the U. S., both the countries have declared openness to hold more high level meetings.
However, both, U. S. and Russia have been hesitant to get into details even after making bold proclamations about making efforts to enhance ties.
