Foreign secretary praises Trump on Russia

Britain’s top diplomat praised President Donald Trump for increasingly strong sanctions against Russia and called on Europeans to match his efforts, whether in response to a nerve agent attack in England last spring, election interference or the annexation of Crimea.

Russia’s “aggressive and malign behavior undermines the international order that keeps us safe,” Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt said Tuesday in a speech at the U.S. Institute of Peace. “Of course we must engage with Moscow, but we must also be blunt. Russia’s foreign policy under President [Vladimir] Putin has made the world a more dangerous place.”

Trump has a “very different style of politics,” including his prolific use of social media, and has engaged in dialogue with the Russian leader, Hunt said. But “I think it’s very important to look at what he does as well as what he says.”

“What you see is an approach to foreign policy that is – absolutely focused on upholding the international order,” Hunt said. “If you look at his actions, he’s actually willing to be very tough, tougher in fact that many of his predecessors.”

While Trump’s admiring outreach toward Putin has raised bipartisan concerns in this country, Hunt’s assessment echoes the administration’s own emphasis on deeds rather than words.

It comes at a time when Britain, following passage of a 2016 referendum calling for withdrawal from the European Union, is seeking reassurance in closer trade relations with the United States.