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Putin and Trump want political solution to Syria conflict, Kremlin says Trump on Putin's denial of meddling in US election: 'I believe him'
(about 1 hour later)
Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump have said they see no military solution to the conflict in Syria and a political resolution was needed, according to a joint statement issued by Russia on Saturday. Donald Trump has said he believes Vladimir Putin spoke genuinely when the Russian president denied meddling in last year’s US election.
The Kremlin announcement said the conversation between the US and Russian leaders took place on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) summit in the Vietnamese resort of Danang. Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One on a flight leaving from an international summit in Vietnam, Trump said the two world leaders had “two or three very short conversations”.
The statement on Syria was coordinated by Russian foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, and US secretary of state, Rex Tillerson, for the meeting. Trump did not respond to a direct question on whether he believed Putin’s denial was accurate but then appeared to say he found the former KGB’s agents words convincing.
Trump said the agreement with Putin would save many lives in Syria. “We agreed very quickly,” he said on Air Force One as he flew from Danang to Hanoi, Vietnam’s capital. “It’s going to save tremendous numbers of lives.” “He said he didn’t meddle. He said he didn’t meddle. I asked him again. You can only ask so many times. I just asked him again. He said he absolutely did not meddle in our election. He did not do what they are saying he did,” Trump said.
“We spoke intermittently during that roundtable. We seem to have a very good feeling for each other and a good relationship considering we don’t know each other well,” Trump said, adding that he and Putin had two or three very short conversations.
Trump said Putin had reiterated that he did not meddle in last year’s US presidential elections, which brought Trump to the White House.
The US president must grapple with the thorny issues of North Korea’s nuclear ambitions as well as trade wars in Asia on one of the trickiest diplomatic tours in decades.The US president must grapple with the thorny issues of North Korea’s nuclear ambitions as well as trade wars in Asia on one of the trickiest diplomatic tours in decades.
Trump warns of the North Korean threat and says Japanese orders for US-made military equipment will help keep Japan safe. Read moreTrump warns of the North Korean threat and says Japanese orders for US-made military equipment will help keep Japan safe. Read more
The North Korea rhetoric softens as the president suggests he is open to diplomatic efforts to resolve the nuclear crisis. Read moreThe North Korea rhetoric softens as the president suggests he is open to diplomatic efforts to resolve the nuclear crisis. Read more
Xi Jinping rolls out the red carpet for Trump, who lavishes praise on his host and blames his American predecessors for the 'huge' trade deficit between the US and China. Read moreXi Jinping rolls out the red carpet for Trump, who lavishes praise on his host and blames his American predecessors for the 'huge' trade deficit between the US and China. Read more
Trump swings through Da Nang for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting (featuring one Vladimir Putin), before flying to Hanoi for talks with Vietnam’s president about boosting economic and security cooperation.Trump swings through Da Nang for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting (featuring one Vladimir Putin), before flying to Hanoi for talks with Vietnam’s president about boosting economic and security cooperation.
US-Filipino relations have plummeted under President Rodrigo Duterte, who shares some populist and mercurial characteristics with his guest. The war on drugs and Islamic terror could join North Korea on the agenda.US-Filipino relations have plummeted under President Rodrigo Duterte, who shares some populist and mercurial characteristics with his guest. The war on drugs and Islamic terror could join North Korea on the agenda.
With Islamic State having suffered losses in Syria and beyond, greater attention is turning to the broader conflict between the forces of the country’s president, Bashar al-Assad, and rebel factions. “Every time he sees me he says: ‘I didn’t do that,’ and I really believe that when he tells me that, he means it. But he says: ‘I didn’t do that’,” he added, saying he believed the Russian president was “very insulted by it, which is not a good thing for our country”.
Putin and Trump had agreed to continue joint efforts to fight Islamic State, the Kremlin statement said. Several US intelligence agencies have already concluded that Moscow meddled in the 2016 presidential election to try to help Trump win.
They confirmed their commitment to Syria’s sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity and called on all parties to the Syrian conflict to take an active part in the Geneva political process, it said. A five-month investigation by the US special counsel Robert Mueller has been examining whether the president was compromised by a foreign power and if Trump’s campaign colluded with Russian agents.
Moscow and Washington agree there is no military solution to the Syrian conflict, according to the text of the joint statement published on the Kremlin’s website. The former foreign policy adviser George Papadopolous has pleaded guilty to perjury over his contacts with Russians linked to the Kremlin while the president’s former campaign manager Paul Manafort and another aide face charges of money laundering.
It said the leaders “had a conversation before the group photo ceremony for the Apec economic leaders”. Trump has repeatedly said that he does not believe Russia actively sought to help him.
Video from Danang showed Putin and Trump chatting – apparently amicably – as they walked to the position where the traditional Apec summit photo was taken at a viewpoint looking over the South China Sea. On the plane on Saturday, the president also blamed Democrats for what he called an “artificial barrier” that he said prevented him from developing a better relationship with Putin.
Earlier pictures from the meeting show Trump walking up to Putin as he sits at the summit table and patting him on the back. The two lean in to speak to each other and clasp each other briefly as they exchange a few words. Trump had scheduled no formal meetings with Putin during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) summit in Da Nang, Vietnam, though the two exchanged a jovial handshake at the gala dinner on Friday and stood next to one another in a “family photo” of the leaders on Saturday.
Although the White House had said no official meeting was planned, it also said it was possible the two leaders would bump into each other. Earlier, Putin had dismissed accusations that Moscow had meddled in the US elections as “fantasies” intended to undermine Trump.
“Everything about the so-called Russian dossier in the US is a manifestation of continuing domestic political struggle,” Putin said at the Apec summit.
Trump has shown little appetite for holding talks with Putin unless there is some sense that progress could be made on festering issues such as Syria, Ukraine and North Korea.
The story of Donald Trump and Russia comes down to this: a sitting president or his campaign is suspected of having coordinated with a foreign country to manipulate a US election. The story could not be bigger, and the stakes for Trump – and the country – could not be higher.The story of Donald Trump and Russia comes down to this: a sitting president or his campaign is suspected of having coordinated with a foreign country to manipulate a US election. The story could not be bigger, and the stakes for Trump – and the country – could not be higher.
Investigators are asking two basic questions: did Trump’s presidential campaign collude at any level with Russian operatives to sway the 2016 US presidential election? And did Trump or others break the law to throw investigators off the trail?Investigators are asking two basic questions: did Trump’s presidential campaign collude at any level with Russian operatives to sway the 2016 US presidential election? And did Trump or others break the law to throw investigators off the trail?
While a majority of the American public now believes that Russia tried to disrupt the US election, opinions about Trump campaign involvement tend to split along partisan lines: 73% of Republicans, but only 13% of Democrats, believe Trump did “nothing wrong” in his dealings with Russia and its president, Vladimir Putin.While a majority of the American public now believes that Russia tried to disrupt the US election, opinions about Trump campaign involvement tend to split along partisan lines: 73% of Republicans, but only 13% of Democrats, believe Trump did “nothing wrong” in his dealings with Russia and its president, Vladimir Putin.
The affair has the potential to eject Trump from office. Experienced legal observers believe that prosecutors are investigating whether Trump committed an obstruction of justice. Both Richard Nixon and Bill Clinton – the only presidents to face impeachment proceedings in the last century – were accused of obstruction of justice. But Trump’s fate is probably up to the voters. Even if strong evidence of wrongdoing by him or his cohort emerged, a Republican congressional majority would probably block any action to remove him from office. (Such an action would be a historical rarity.)The affair has the potential to eject Trump from office. Experienced legal observers believe that prosecutors are investigating whether Trump committed an obstruction of justice. Both Richard Nixon and Bill Clinton – the only presidents to face impeachment proceedings in the last century – were accused of obstruction of justice. But Trump’s fate is probably up to the voters. Even if strong evidence of wrongdoing by him or his cohort emerged, a Republican congressional majority would probably block any action to remove him from office. (Such an action would be a historical rarity.)
Former foreign policy adviser George Papadopolous pleaded guilty to perjury over his contacts with Russians linked to the Kremlin, and the president’s former campaign manager Paul Manafort and another aide face charges of money laundering.Former foreign policy adviser George Papadopolous pleaded guilty to perjury over his contacts with Russians linked to the Kremlin, and the president’s former campaign manager Paul Manafort and another aide face charges of money laundering.
The investigations have an open timeline.The investigations have an open timeline.
After emphasising last year on the campaign trail that it would be good for the United States and Russia to work together on world problems, Trump has had limited contact with Putin since taking office. Putin was asked if he had followed the mounting investigation into alleged contacts between Trump’s campaign team and Russians, including a woman who claimed to be Putin’s niece.
Trump publicly sitting down with Putin also revives the issue of Russian meddling in last year’s US presidential election, which remains under investigation. “Regarding some sort of connections of my relatives with members of the administration or some officials, I only found out about that yesterday from [his spokesman Dmitry] Peskov,” the Russian president said.
Trump’s former campaign manager, Paul Manafort, has been indicted in the investigation along with his former deputy, Rick Gates. “I don’t know anything about it,” he said. “I think these are some sort of fantasies.”
Trump said on Saturday that a good relationship with Russia was important. Earlier the Kremlin said Putin and Trump had agreed that there was no military solution to the conflict in Syria and a political resolution was needed.
“In fact it would be a great thing ... because he could really help us in North Korea. We have a big problem with North Korea and China is helping us,” the president said. “If Russia helped us in addition to China that problem would go away a lot faster.” Putin and Trump had agreed to continue joint efforts to fight Islamic State, the Kremlin statement said.
They confirmed their commitment to Syria’s sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity and called on all parties to the Syrian conflict to take an active part in the Geneva political process, it said.
Moscow and Washington agree that there is no military solution to the Syrian conflict, according to the text of the joint statement published on the Kremlin’s website.