On Friday, the Department of Justice issued indictments charging a dozen Russian intelligence officers with hacking the Hillary Clinton presidential campaign and the Democratic Party during the 2016 election.
Advertisement
He also talked about how no matter how well the summit went, it would never be good enough for his critics.
He said he did not have high expectations of the summit, but Russian state television has already proclaimed a victory for Mr Putin, as his isolation has ended with nothing being asked in return. “I did not think that this was a good moment for our country”.
“We’ve worked with Israel for many decades and never has any country been closer than we are”, said Trump. Trump sparred with Stoltenberg at a breakfast on the first morning of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation summit, railing against German investment in Russian oil and calling for an increase in defense spending by North Atlantic Treaty Organisation members. Question for President Trump as he meets Putin: “Do you know which team you play for?”
In one exchange, Putin said the USA could help Russia apprehend Americans wanted by Russian authorities. Not mentioned: Election meddling or Syria. Jaw-dropping. Disgraceful. I am running out of words to describe how despicable it is to see an American President capitulate to a dictator.
“And this at a time when Russian interference in the 2016 election is becoming ever more conclusive”.
It was not clear from Trump’s statement what sort of help Putin was offering. Trump does not follow Tusk on Twitter.
“It was nothing short of treasonous”.
Following are comments by Putin and Trump, at the beginning of meeting, as released by the Kremlin.
Following his one-on-one meeting with Putin in Helsinki, Finland, Trump declined to endorse the United States intelligence community’s assessment that Russia interfered in the 2016 election over Putin’s denial, saying the Russian President was “extremely strong and powerful” in his denial.
Senator Jeff Flake, a fellow Republican and staunch critic of the president, labels his performance “shameful”.
“The damage inflicted by President Trump’s naivety, egotism, false equivalence, and sympathy for autocrats is hard to calculate”. Tusk tweeted Monday morning his concerns that Trump will further rock the world order today at his meeting with Putin.
Advertisement
The United States has no extradition treaty with Moscow and can not compel Russian Federation to hand over citizens.
