Mattis: Russia tried to meddle in midterms
WASHINGTON: US defence secretary Jim Mattis has said that Russia tried to meddle in the US midterm elections last month just as it did in the 2016 vote that brought President Donald Trump to power.
The already strained ties between Washington and Moscow have “no doubt” worsened over Russian’s continued attempts to interfere in the US voting process, Mattis said on Saturday. Russian President Vladimir Putin “tried again to muck around in our elections this last month, and we are seeing a continued effort along those lines,” the Pentagon chief said.
Putin has “continued efforts to try to subvert democratic processes that must be defended,” Mattis said, stressing he was unsure whether there were growing threats from Russia. “We’ll do whatever is necessary to defend them.” Mattis spoke as Trump suddenly scrapped a planned meeting with Putin at the G20 summit of world leaders in Buenos Aires, citing a Russian military intervention in Ukraine.
Ahead of last month’s vote, Twitter and Facebook shut down thousands of Russian-controlled accounts, while 14 people from Russia’s notorious troll farm, the Internet Research Agency, were indicted.
TRUMP HOPES TO MEET KIM IN EARLY 2019
Trump said he hoped to hold a second summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in early 2019, perhaps as soon as January or February.
When asked about a future meeting, Trump said, “I think we’re going to do one fairly (soon) - into January, February, I think.”
A HIGH-FIVE FOR SAUDI PRINCE FROM PUTIN
Putin walked up to Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, high-fived him and then shook his hand heartily. Moments earlier, the prince had been pictured on the far edge of the traditional family portrait photograph, ignored by other
TRUMP TO FORMALLY PULL U.S. OUT OF NAFTA
Trump announced his intention late on Saturday to quickly withdraw the US from the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), a move intended to force House Democrats to enact a revised version of the pact despite concerns that it fails to protect American workers.
“I will be formally terminating NAFTA shortly,” Trump told reporters, a day after appearing at a ceremonial signing of the new deal with Canada and Mexico.