US President Donald Trump pledged Sunday to work \u00ab\u00a0constructively\u00a0\u00bb with Russia but ruled out an immediate easing of sanctions while the countries remain at odds over the conflicts in Syria and Ukraine.<\/b>
\nUS President Donald Trump pledged Sunday to work \u00ab\u00a0constructively\u00a0\u00bb with Russia but ruled out an immediate easing of sanctions while the countries remain at odds over the conflicts in Syria and Ukraine.
In a series of tweets on his return from Europe, Trump said he had confronted his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin over evidence from the US intelligence agencies that Moscow meddled in the 2016 election when the two leaders met for the first time in Germany on Friday.
And while he welcomed an agreement for the start of a ceasefire in Syria, Trump said it was too early to consider any easing of US sanctions on Russia \u00ab\u00a0until the Ukrainian & Syrian problems are solved.\u00a0\u00bb
\u00ab\u00a0I strongly pressed President Putin twice about Russian meddling in our election, \u00a0\u00bb Trump said of their meeting on the sidelines of the G20 summit. \u00ab\u00a0He vehemently denied it. I’ve already given my opinion…..\u00a0\u00bb
Trump said he and Putin had talked about the idea of setting up what he called \u00ab\u00a0an impenetrable cyber security unit\u00a0\u00bb to prevent hacking in future elections, without giving details.
He also said the two men had discussed the implementation of a ceasefire in Syria which began on Sunday, saying \u00ab\u00a0it will save lives.\u00a0\u00bb
\u00ab\u00a0Now it is time to move forward in working constructively with Russia!\u00a0\u00bb
– Friction over Syria –
Syria has been a particular source of friction between the two countries, as Russia is a close ally of President Bashar al-Assad.
Moscow was furious when the Trump administration launched a cruise missile strike against Syrian forces in April, in retaliation for what Washington said was a chemical weapons attack by Assad’s regime against civilians.
Moscow has warned that a program of sanctions imposed by the US, which was tightened last month, threatens their whole relationship.
Trump’s predecessor Barack Obama ordered the seizure of two Russian diplomatic compounds in the US last December after accusing Russia of trying to influence the outcome of the 2016 presidential election.
And last month, the United States added 38 individuals and entities to its sanctions list targeting Russians and pro-Russian rebels it blames for the fighting in Ukraine and the occupation of Crimea.
\u00ab\u00a0Sanctions were not discussed at my meeting with President Putin. Nothing will be done until the Ukrainian & Syrian problems are solved, \u00a0\u00bb said Trump.
The US president has previously equivocated over whether Russia did try to tilt the outcome of last November’s election contest against Hillary Clinton in his favor, amid an investigation into whether members of Trump’s campaign team actively colluded with Moscow.
– ‘Strategic alliance’ –
So his public assessment that Russia did meddle has triggered questions over whether his administration planned to bring in more sanctions.
Asked on Sunday whether new sanctions were in the pipeline, US Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin told ABC television: \u00ab\u00a0We have sanctions that are already on the table and we expect to enforce those sanctions.\u00a0\u00bb
Mnuchin also insisted that Russia and the US could work together on cyber security, despite criticism in some quarters that the two sides had diametrically opposing goals.
\u00ab\u00a0What we want to make sure is that we coordinate with Russia, that we’re focused on cybersecurity together, that we make sure that they never interfere in any democratic elections, \u00a0\u00bb he said.
\u00ab\u00a0This is like any other strategic alliance, whether we’re doing military exercises with our allies or anything else. This is about having capabilities to make sure we both fight cyber (crime) together which I think is a very significant accomplishment for President Trump.\u00a0\u00bb
The US and Russian sides have issued sharply conflicting accounts of Friday’s meeting, with Putin saying on Saturday that Trump had been \u00ab\u00a0satisfied\u00a0\u00bb by his denials of any Russian interference in the polls.
Nikki Haley, the US ambassador to the United Nations, said the Russian denials had been expected but cut no ice.
\u00ab\u00a0This is Russia trying to save face, \u00a0\u00bb she told CNN. \u00ab\u00a0And they can’t. They can’t.
\u00ab\u00a0Everybody knows that Russia meddled in our elections.\u00a0\u00bb<\/p>\n

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