President Donald Trump is under hawk-eyed scrutiny in the U.S. capital ahead of his first meeting with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin scheduled for Thursday in Hamburg, Germany, on the sidelines of the G-20 summit. Commentators and Democratic lawmakers have urged him to take a stern stand against Russia.
American intelligence agencies have concluded that Mr. Putin personally oversaw a clandestine operation to tilt last year’s presidential election in Mr. Trump’s favour. Russia denies the allegation.
Destabilising force
A day ahead of the meeting, in Warsaw, Poland, Mr. Trump called out Russia for its “destabilising activities” but gave it the benefit of doubt on the question of election meddling. At a speech in Warsaw, the President reiterated his commitment to the NATO alliance and championed “Western values”. He asked Russia to “cease its destabilising activities in Ukraine and elsewhere and its support for hostile regimes, including Syria and Iran.” He also asked Russia to “join the community of responsible nations in our fight against common enemies and in defence of civilisation itself.”
Mr. Trump has been vocal in arguing that Russia could be a partner in dealing with the threats of nuclear proliferation and Islamist terrorism, but he has few supporters in the American establishment. Russia’s cooperation was critical in the nuclear deal with Iran , but on Syria — despite multiple rounds of talks — the U.S. and Russia could not reach an agreement. With North Korea flaring up as yet another challenge, an understanding with Russia could be valuable, though not easy, for Mr. Trump.
While the President toed the American establishment line on Russian threats at the NATO border, he touched a raw nerve, yet again recalling the unsubstantiated intelligence that U.S. agencies produced in support of invading Iraq in 2003. “I remember when I was sitting back listening about Iraq, weapons of mass destruction, how everybody was 100% certain that Iraq has weapons of mass destruction. Guess what? That led to one big mess. They were wrong and it led to a mess,” Mr. Trump said, addressing a press conference with Polish President Andrzej Duda.
Russia meddling
He was responding to a question on intelligence reports on Russian interference in the presidential election. “I think it was Russia but I think it was probably other people and or countries…,” Mr. Trump said. “No one really knows. No one really knows for sure.”
Mr. Trump has been criticised in America for not explicitly reiterating the principle of collective security when he visited Europe earlier. He made the amends in Warsaw. “I would point out that the United States has demonstrated not merely with words, but with its actions, that we stand firmly behind Article 5,” said the President, referring to the NATO commitment that an attack on one would be considered an attack on all. But still, his refusal to blame Russia for election meddling could dominate American news cycle in the hours ahead of his meeting with Mr. Putin.
The White House on Wednesday said the meeting will be a full-fledged, bilateral, heads of state meeting, with a set agenda and officials present. National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster has earlier said there would be “no specific agenda,” and the topics could be “whatever the President wants to talk about.”
