‘We were firm with Russia’

Pompeo defends Washington but doesn’t rule out Putin at summit

President Donald Trump’s administration insisted it has been firm with Russia over Afghanistan but kept open the door to inviting President Vladimir Putin for a summit.

Washington has been in uproar since newspapers reported that US intelligence believed that a Russian unit paid bounties for Talibanlinked militants to kill US troops.

Trump again denied reports that he had been briefed, saying the intelligence was not strong enough to warrant telling the president.

“Do people still not understand that this is all a made up Fake News Media Hoax started to slander me & the Republican Party,” he wrote on Twitter on Wednesday.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said it was “nothing new” that Russia has been acting against US interests in Afghanistan – but defended how the administration had responded.

“We took this seriously; we handle it appropriately,” Pompeo said without commenting on the intelligence.

“The Russians have been selling small arms that have put Americans at risk there for 10 years. We have objected to it,” he added.

“When we see credible information that suggests that the Russians are putting American lives at risk, we’re responding in a way that is serious.”

But Pompeo did not rule out welcoming Putin to the United States.

Trump mused last month about inviting him to an expanded summit of the Group of Seven industrial democracies – which kicked out Russia over its 2014 takeover of Crimea.

Trump “gets to decide if he wants him to come to a summit or not. That’s his decision,” Pompeo told reporters.

“I’ll certainly leave that to him. But I do believe it is absolutely important that we have more frequent engagement with the Russians.”