Trump-putin summit has allies on edge
U.S. president slams NATO, Russia probe
WASHINGTON • U.S. President Donald Trump has appeared to cast doubt on U.S. intelligence assessments that Russia meddled in the 2016 presidential election as it was announced Helsinki would host his first summit with Vladimir Putin next month.
The U.S. president tweeted Thursday: “Russia continues to say they had nothing to do with meddling in our election.” He went on to question why U.S. law enforcement agencies weren’t investigating other perceived influences on the election, which he has repeatedly said was rigged for his Democrat opponent Hillary Clinton.
The comment has fuelled fears that Trump’s meeting with the Russian president could further drive a wedge between the U.S. and its European allies.
The summit, on July 16, comes at the end of a visit to Europe that will see Trump visit Brussels for a NATO meeting, London for talks with Prime Minister Theresa May and the Queen, and possibly Scotland for a few rounds of golf.
May is among European leaders clamouring for a tough line on Russia in the wake of the poisoning of Sergei and Yulia Skripal in Salisbury earlier this year.
However, Trump, eager to improve relations with Moscow despite the federal investigation into his campaign’s links to the country, has been critical of NATO. U.S. media reports surfaced Thursday stating that the president had recently renewed his criticism of NATO — an alliance of 29 countries formed after the Second World War.
Trump told fellow world leaders at a meeting this month that “NATO is as bad as NAFTA,” according to the news website Axios, adding: “It’s much too costly for the U.S.”
Trump has repeatedly threatened to tear up the North American Free Trade Agreement between America, Canada and Mexico unless it is renegotiated.
There are fears Trump could call for the halting of NATO military exercises in Eastern Europe, something that would be a boost for Putin.
The U.S. president made a similar move after meeting North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, when he unexpectedly cancelled Americansouth Korea “war games” on the Korean Peninsula.
There are also concerns that Trump could refuse to sign a joint communiqué at the end of the NATO gathering — something he did at the G7 meeting of world leaders in Quebec this month — and attack allies for not spending more on defence.
The White House and Kremlin announced the Trump-putin summit in joint statements. Helsinki held a number of historic Cold War talks in the past. The pair have yet to hold a formal summit since Trump took office, but have met a number of times and talked more than half-a-dozen times on the phone.
An investigation by special counsel Robert Mueller into Russian election meddling continues to hang over Trump. Thursday, the president claimed Mueller had “conflicts of interest.”
Trump is reportedly prepared to push for Russia’s help in solving the Syria crisis in what would be a remarkable change in policy from his predecessor Barack Obama.
Trump hopes Putin will agree to push Iran out of Syria in return for keeping president Bashar Assad in power, according to a CNN report.
Putin will attend the World Cup final in Moscow on July 15 before his meeting with Trump in Finland.
Trump said earlier this week: “I think they’re doing a fantastic job with the World Cup right now. It’s in Russia, and I will tell you that it’s exciting. My son loves soccer, and he loves watching the World Cup. And they have really done a fantastic job with the World Cup.”