Trump and Putin with a joint broadside

Presidents Donald J. Trump and Vladimir Putin. Photo: wikimedia.org

Trump and Putin with a joint broadside against investigation

President Trump and Putin stood side by side and hammered at the investigation of Russia’s alleged involvement in the US presidential election in 2016.

 

US President Donald Trump called the allegations a disaster for the country, saying they contribute to the poor relationship between Russia and the United States of America.

– There was no conspiracy at all. Everybody is aware of this, Trump said at a joint press conference with Putin after a one-to-one meeting lasting more than two hours.

– It’s ridiculous. It’s ridiculous, what’s going on with this investigation, according to Trump.

The White House had originally set aside 90 minutes for the meeting, which was held in Helsinki’s Presidential Palace.

No interference

Russian President Vladimir Putin reiterated that the country has not or will not interfere in US electoral processes.

– I had to repeat what I have stated before; including in personal meetings with Trump that Russia has not interfered and will not interfere with US election processes, according to Putin.

Trump confirmed that he had addressed the topic during the meeting with Putin and said he thought it was best to discuss this face to face.

The US president stated that Putin has strong opinions on the matter and that Putin also launched an “idea”. But Trump did not elaborate on that.

– I did not know the Russian President; there was no conspiracy, according to the US President.

Opens for interrogation

Putin opened during the press conference for allowing US investigators to come to Russia and question the twelve Russians named in the most recent accusation from specialist researcher Robert Mueller.

– He can send us a request to question the people he suspects, Putin stated about Mueller.

The twelve, identified as Russian intelligence agents, is accused of interfering in the 2016 election in the form of extensive data attacks against the Democrats.

Putin states that any such agreement must be bilateral. This entails that Russian authorities must be able to access people in the United States who they believe are behind violation of Russian laws, according to the Russian President.

Wished for Trump victory

Putin answered that during the election campaign in 2016 he hoped that Trump would win.

– Yes, I wanted him to win because he was talking about normalizing relations between Russia and the United States, Putin said.

It emerged that the two presidents still disagree on the Crimean Peninsula, which Russia annexed in 2014.

– He (Trump) maintains that it was an illegal annexation, according to Putin.

Improved relations now

– Our relationship has never been worse than it was now. But that changed about four hours ago, Trump boasted after the meeting.

Putin concurred.

– The negotiations with President Trump were both fruitful and successful, according to him.

– There is no reason why the relationship between Russia and the United States should be difficult. The cold war belongs to the past, according to the Russian President.

Trump’s confidence in Putin is weird

Trump’s confidence in Putin is in stark contrast to US experts who say Russian data attacks continue as before, says researcher Svein Melby.

Melby says he finds it remarkable that President Donald Trump chooses to completely ignore recent conclusions from US intelligence organizations. He is buying President Vladimir Putin’s assurance that Russia did not interfere in the US presidential election instead.

– It’s quite unexplainable that Trump acts in this way. He shows a gullible, subservient attitude towards Putin, and there is no reason to do so, Melby says to NTB.

 

© NTB scanpix / #Norway Today