Trump Pushing For Big Meeting With Putin: Report
Trump Is Pleading With His Staff To Let Him Meet With Putin.
Donald Trump is pushing his staff for a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin during the G20 summit next month in Germany, according to a new report.
According to The Associated Press, not all of Trump’s advisers think the meeting would be a good idea. The group of skeptics includes officials in the State Department and on the National Security Council.
The AP report cited current and former administration officials who told the news service that Trump wants media access and the normal protocol associated with such meetings.
“Many administration officials believe the U.S. needs to maintain its distance from Russia at such a sensitive time — and interact only with great caution,” the AP noted.
The potential meeting comes at a tense period in U.S.-Russia relations.
As the AP reminds us, “There are big risks, though. Trump is known to veer off-script, creating the possibility for a high-stakes diplomatic blunder. In a brief Oval Office meeting with top Russian diplomats last month, Trump revealed highly classified information about an Islamic State group threat to airlines that was relayed to him by Israel, according to a senior administration official.”
Steven Pifer, who is a former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine, told the AP that if the two meet, Trump has to “say to Putin, ‘We’re not happy about you interfering in our election.’”
“If you don’t say that, you are going to get hammered by the press and Congress and you can guarantee Congress will pass sanctions legislation against Russia,” he said.
“They also need to keep their expectations very, very modest,” Pifer added. “If they aim for a home run in Hamburg, my guess is they’ll strike out.”
[image via screengrab]
