Trump Reportedly Planning A Summit With Putin
President Donald Trump is reportedly planning a summit with Russia’s President Vladamir Putin. The two presidents have yet to meet privately. However, they have spoken to each other at larger events like the Group of 20 summit in Germany and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Vietnam, reported the Huffington Post. The efforts to put together a summit are not new. A senior administration official said that “This has been an ongoing project of ambassador Huntsman, stretching back months, of getting a formal meeting between Putin and Trump.”
Trump and those associated with him has been under scrutiny over potential ties and collusion with Russia. Regardless, Trump has forged ahead with inviting Putin to Washington. The invitation was extended during Trump’s call to Putin congratulating him on winning a new term of presidency in Russia. However, some criticized Trump’s willingness to accept Putin’s presidential win, since many believe that the election was rigged.
There are many agenda topics that would be important for the two presidents to discuss. These include conflicts in Syria and Ukraine. Trump and Putin would also be talking about nuclear-arms control, according to New York Magazine.
According to Business Insider, experts believe that taking such a meeting is detrimental, and that “Putin has already won.” This remark was made by Richard Kauzlarich, former deputy assistant secretary of state. Kauzlarich’s expertise in U.S.-Russia relations tells him that “[Putin’s] been seething over how he hasn’t been able to establish a relationship with Trump. That this meeting is even being considered gives Putin everything and the US nothing.”
Kauzlarich further criticized other moves by the president that appeared to be one-sided deals.
“We move the US embassy to Jerusalem and get nothing in exchange. We give the North Koreans a summit and get nothing in exchange. We pull out of the Iran nuclear deal and get nothing in exchange. This is par for the course.”
Throughout the Russian-collusion investigation, Trump and Putin have both denied any claims of wrongdoing.
#BREAKING: White House planning for potential Trump-Putin summit: report https://t.co/xiUK4n6FnK pic.twitter.com/grVJLe0kbH
— The Hill (@thehill) June 2, 2018
In fact, Trump said that “Every time [Putin] sees me he says I didn’t do that and I really believe that when he tells me that, he means it.” Trump has also blasted Mueller and his investigation as an “artificial Democratic hit job” that has created an “artificial barrier” between the two countries.
Meanwhile, Russia is reportedly creating closer ties with China, which is not a good indicator for the United States. Recently, Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov was in North Korea to invite Kim Jong-Un to Russia.
