MOSCOW (AP) — The Kremlin and the White House say the summit between Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump will take place in Helsinki on July 16.
The synchronized announcement comes a day after Trump’s National Security Adviser John Bolton held talks with Russian officials in Moscow to lay the groundwork for the summit.
Trump said Wednesday that “getting along with Russia and with China and with everybody is a very good thing.” He said they would discuss Syria, Ukraine and “many other subjects.”
The Russian leader had two brief meetings with Trump on the sidelines of international summits last year, but plans for a full-fledged summit have been thrown back amid the U.S. investigations into alleged collusion between Trump’s campaign and Russia.
Oh, Putin’s really happy today. It’ll be a dawdle packing the venue (hotels, restaurants, hookers) with FSB people – easy, as well as cheap because it’s just across the border (no having to fly a bunch of folks over).
You can bet your sweet bippie that more pee tapes will be made – and if the Secret Service guys pull another one of their drunken-partying-with-hookers stunts (and you can bet the vodka will flow like water), our whole national security will be jeopardized. Talk about blackmail fodder.
It’s not just that Pootie got a psychological leg over (“Bolton’s come a-begging” on Russian national teevee) just like Kim in SK pulled the wool over Spankee’s eyes. It’s that he got Spankee and Bolton to agree to holding it in his backyard.
Pootie’s Christmas came early this year.
“many other subjects.”
I’m not expecting a whole lot of elaboration on this, either in the days ahead of or the days following the summit.
Not in public, anyway.
Regrettably, it seems the Russian media far better understand Trump than the US counterpart.
No wonder, though. For the US media, Trump is a president. For the Russian media, he is a puppet.
cc: @irasdad @inversion
Here’s one deal a master deal-maker might be able to negotiate with Russia: Russia gets sanctions lifted, and agreement that US will withdraw from NATO and G7. US gets nothing, though there will be promises that Russia will work with the US on Syria and other matters. I think Mr. Trump may be able to pull it off!
Unfortunately, this is no exaggeration. Trump apparently said at the G7 meeting that NATO was as bad as NAFTA and he really does want to lift sanctions (or is being told that he can’t wait any longer to make this happen).
Yeah, read that on my way to work this morning (you know, it made me feel exhausted instantly and the day is still young) On surface, it’s totally absurd and insane to compare a military alliance and free trade agreement and declare both are similarly bad (aside from whether they are really “bad”). But yes, what’s consistent there is more important. And so, no, I actually fear what you said may well happen… especially now that Mattis seems to have been sidelined.