Donald Trump Jr. Met Last Month With Russia Supporters About Syria Policy

Photo by: Dennis Van Tine/STAR MAX/IPx 7/19/16 Donald Trump, Jr. at day 2 of The 2016 Republican National Convention. (Cleveland, Ohio)
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Donald Trump Jr. joined with “diplomats, businessmen and politicians” in Paris last month at a gathering that was aimed at looking for ways countries could work alongside Russia to end the civil war in Syria, the Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday.

The event was hosted by a think tank, the Center of Political and Foreign Affairs, whose founders “have worked closely with Russia to try to end the conflict,” according to the report. Randa Kassis, one of the founders, is the leader of a “Syrian opposition group” that is considered to be a political ally of Russia’s.

The Wall Street Journal reported that after the election, Kassis posted on Facebook “Syria’s opposition got hope that political process will move forward and Russia and the United States will reach accord on the issue of the Syrian crisis, because of Trump’s victory.”

“Such hope and belief is the result of my personal meeting with Donald Trump junior in Paris in October… I succeeded to pass Trump, through the talks with his son, the idea of how we can cooperate together to reach the agreement between Russia and the United States on Syria,” she wrote.

Kellyanne Conway, a senior adviser to the President-elect, told the Wall Street Journal that Donald Trump Jr.’s role was limited.

“Don was addressing a roundtable in Paris, and she was present for that talk and at a group dinner for 30 people,” she told the Journal. “This event featured a number of opinion leaders from all over the world who were interested in the U.S. elections.”

The meeting highlights the open question of what role Trump’s children may play in his administration and what Trump’s relationship with Russia as President may be. Throughout the campaign, Trump repeatedly praised Russian President Vladimir Putin’s strength.

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