US President Donald Trump praised the potential for the development of Russian-American relations, commenting on the telephone conversation with Vladimir Putin that took place the day before.
“Yesterday we had a great telephone conversation with Russian President Putin. Great potential for good / excellent relations with Russia, despite what they say and write in the fake media. Suffice it to recall how you were misled about "collusion with Russia." The world can be better and safer, ”the White House host wrote on Twitter.
Recall, on May 3, the presidents of Russia and the United States held lengthy telephone negotiations, during which they discussed a number of key issues on the international agenda, as well as the state and prospects of bilateral relations. Moreover, both in the White House and in the Kremlin, they positively assessed the outcome of the conversation.
“As I have always said, long before the witch-hunt began, getting along with Russia, China and everyone else is good, not bad,” said Trump, commenting on his conversation with Putin.
However, it is unlikely that the 45th President of the United States seriously expected that his political opponents would let him get away with similar reviews about the main geopolitical opponent of Washington in recent years. The reaction was not long in coming.
Already in the course of the press conference following the talks, NBC correspondent Kristen Welker, interrupting Trump who answered another question, asked him the following: did he tell Putin not to interfere in the upcoming 2020 presidential election? In response, Trump called this behavior very rude and said that this issue was not raised during a conversation with the Russian leader.
NBC's Kristen Welker: "Did you tell [Putin]?"
Trump: "Excuse me, I'm talking. I'm answering his question. You are very rude."
Trump, pressed again, says he didn’t
Via Fox pic.twitter.com/QOVJ7TeK5h
Approximately in the same key, the negotiations were discussed in a number of mainstream media: they say, Trump casually discussed with Putin the results of the investigation of Special Prosecutor Robert Muller, but did not tell him a word about the findings of the first part of the final report. Recall that it is claimed there that Russia allegedly interfered in the 2016 presidential election. Moreover, the American intelligence community continues to assure Americans that Moscow does not intend to abandon this practice in the future, already “aiming” at the 2020 presidential campaign.
“That is, our commander in chief during today's conversation did not warn the leader of our main rival country with a nuclear arsenal, so that she would not interfere in the elections again. But he complained for a long time about how Muller’s investigation was unfair to him, ”said Anderson Cooper, a CNN presenter.
In turn, Tom Rogan, a Washington Examiner publication columnist, in his material asked a rhetorical question of how the US president could have a “positive conversation” with Vladimir Putin.
“No American president should regard the telephone conversation with Putin as“ very positive ”when it comes to issues on which there are irreconcilable differences of opinion. To do this is to deceive yourself, believing that Putin is interested in reaching a compromise. For important issues this is not the case. Putin is a KGB officer who never really left the KGB. He lives to weaken America, ”Rogan writes.
The media and opponents of the 45th US President in Congress are not far behind the rhetoric. For example, Senate Democratic Minority Leader Chuck Schumer called Trump’s priorities “terrible and undermining democracy” because the American leader did not “put pressure on Putin” using evidence gathered by the Muller team.
In turn, the head of the House Intelligence Committee, Democrat Adam Schiff, expressed the opinion that the head of state would betray the national security of the United States by his behavior for his vanity.
“The campaign of 2020 is already in full swing, and Trump just said to Putin, the man behind the biggest cyber attack on our democracy, that he considers this all a“ far-fetched affair. ” Once again, he betrays our national security, and for what? Nothing but his own vanity and delusions, ”said Schiff.
- Summit of the Presidents of Russia and the USA in Helsinki (July 2018)
- RIA News
- © Alexey Nikolsky
"Stop unruly escalation"
According to the deputy chairman of the State Duma’s defense committee, Yury Shvytkin, the Russian side welcomes the intention of the current US president to establish constructive and mutually beneficial Russian-American relations. He added that Moscow is committed to building a dialogue with Washington, subject to respect for each other, but the internal political situation in the United States makes such communication difficult.
“It is worth noting that from the United States this will be very difficult to do. If we talk about Russia, then we have consolidation, unity and understanding in matters of the need to establish relations in a constructive manner with the United States. But if we talk about the United States, then we need to recognize that the internal political situation in their country and the contradictions of the elites make it difficult to build a dialogue on the necessary basis, ”the parliamentarian stated.
In turn, as Gevorg Mirzayan, an associate professor at the Department of Political Science at the Financial University under the Russian government, said in an interview with RT, Trump is right about the enormous potential for cooperation between Washington and Moscow and the existence of issues that both powers can solve on a mutually beneficial basis. We are talking about the broadest spectrum of problems, starting with the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons and the fight against world terrorism and ending with regional security issues.
“Nevertheless, all this enormous potential of cooperation is leveled out by the fundamental unwillingness of the United States to agree with a number of real moments and things. The United States refuses to recognize the status of a full partner for Russia. They also refuse to recognize our area of responsibility - the post-Soviet space. And 90% of the conflict potential between our countries is connected with this, ”the expert emphasized.
The political analyst added that both states will be able to realize the existing potential only when there is a “psychological understanding” in the United States that they need to really look at things for the sake of beneficial cooperation with Russia.
“For the time being, this is indeed recognized in America. But only individual, albeit influential political analysts and Donald Trump. But a significant part of the American political establishment refuses to recognize this reality, ”noted Mirzayan.
At the same time, expert of the Center for Security Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences Konstantin Blokhin expressed the opinion that after the publication of the Muller report, which showed that the story of “collusion” was a “bubble”, Trump feels freer in the Russian direction.
“But now all his enemies will examine under any microscope any gesture of the president addressed to Russia. Donald Trump is one of the few in the American elite who looks at relations with Russia through the prism of realism and pragmatism, the specific national interests of the United States, and not some rabid ideology. The dialogue between our countries is necessary, because we are two nuclear powers and the fate of the whole world directly depends on how our relations develop, ”the expert noted.
However, the source RT added that at this stage the main task of the two countries is not to improve relations, but to avoid confrontation. In particular, it is necessary to create a kind of bilateral control mechanism, but now not only the anti-Russian establishment, but also the “hawks” in its environment are pressing on Trump.
“So now we need to stop the uncontrollable escalation,” concluded Blokhin.