Who is Preventing This?? Trump Wants to Meet With Putin, But Simply Can’t At This Point

— We received an urgent message. Manafort, Donald Trump's former campaign manager, was arrested. He's charged with…

— For what he said about Crimea.

— ...with laundering profits from working with the lobbyists in Ukraine, among other things. This is a curious case, and the events are unraveling fast in Washington right now.

— Well, if you connect all the conspiracy dots, it may seem that Trump is on the hook. He said some dangerous things, according to the Establishment, so they arrested Manafort who was out on bail. Then he talked about his plans to meet with Putin. So there they go again. Alright, let's read The New Yorker. They wrote that no matter what happens, he'll meet with Putin anyway.

— The Ambassador's statement needs to be discussed, of course.

 

"Fresh off his summit with the North Korean dictator, Kim Jong Un, President Trump is pushing his team to arrange another dramatic one-on-one meeting, this time with Vladimir Putin. "There’s no stopping him", a senior Administration official familiar with the internal deliberations said. "He’s going to do it. He wants to have a meeting with Putin, so he’s going to have a meeting with Putin".

— The situation with the Putin looks more dangerous than with Kim Jong Un. That was a direct threat. If he expresses his position as official instead of personal, the US Congress will handle him. This isn't all that simple, and it's not likely for all these statements, including the one about the meeting, to be acted on.

Vyacheslav Nikonov, State Duma: The meeting will take place. I actually want to say a few words about Manafort. I agree that Manafort's arrest is definitely the result of Trump's statements about Russia and Ukraine.

— Still, it's too drastic.

— Well, everything is rather drastic there. I remind you that Trump has made a few extremely illiberal statements. Do you remember when Obama had listed the archenemies of the US? They were Ebola, ISIS, and Russia. However, Trump said that US's archenemy is fake news from the NBC and CNN channels. They didn't let that slide nor will they cut him any slack. Nonetheless, Manafort's arrest will be used, but it can't be used against Russia.

— What about Ukraine?

— It'll be used against Ukraine. All the corrupt practices he's accused of were conducted in Ukraine, which will once again confirm Ukraine's reputation as a corrupt country. I'd also like to mention Mr. Herbst. American politicians decided to correct Russian grammar. When you said "on Ukraine," following the rules of literary Russian language, he said you can't say that because it's a display of imperialism. Do you see?

— Yes.

— Like the Red Army on Donbass.

— American political experts are now teaching us how to speak Russian.

— Good for them.

— That was bold. As for the summit, it's being arranged.

— This is fresh footage of Manafort entering the court building. And then…

— There he goes. The arrangements have begun in all fields, and I think we have many issues to discuss. I'm certain that Trump's administration has thoroughly studied all of President Putin's announcements about the new Russian armament, all the weapon systems that basically pose a great threat to the US. This being said, the armament control issues may become relevant again.

— Even though we've never threatened anyone.

— Nobody, never. This situation is definitely... That's right. However, if we must, we'll definitely strike back to their deaths. There.

— Wonderful. Whoever needs that. How subtly put.

— Now, the situation in Syria. The US is definitely reaching a dead end there. There's a lot to talk about. Then, there's the global issue. Trump poses the US as an independent center of power in the world, not as the center that represents the West, but as a sovereign center of power. He wants to talk to other sovereign centers of power, and the Russian Federation is one of them. Besides, of course, he must break the Gordian knot of being labeled as a pro-Russian politician, he must show some inclemency. Obviously, Trump won't openly admit that Crimea belongs to Russia. It's unacceptable for American politicians, but we don't need it anyway. Crimea isn't a sovereign state that needs to be recognized as such or given a spot in the UN. It's just a part of Russia, and Russia doesn't need this fact to be recognized. As far as the US sanctions go, our entire country is affected by them, not just Crimea. All the liberal complaints that it'll be harder for them to see Paris now, or they won't have jamón are not relevant concerns for our society, I'm sure of it. Our society…

—To put it nicely.

— ...mostly appreciates the opportunity to pursue our own policy and the fact that Crimea is legitimately and equitably ours.

— I have another question. We've traditionally been discussing Trump, saying that he was incapable and helpless. What has changed now? Why has he become all independent all of a sudden?

Oleg Morozov, Soviet of the Federation: I'm ready to answer that question, but I'd like to say this first. Why is it good to talk with our Ukrainian partners and experts? We ask them who they think will win, Spain or Portugal. They say, "Human rights are infringed on in Crimea." The issue is off the table. That's true. Thus, it's pointless to talk to them. Now, back to Trump. I repeat, don't underestimate Trump. We think in extremities, saying that he's either too independent or a Kremlin agent. But, he's perfectly adequate.

— He's both.

— In my opinion, when he talks about meeting Putin, he plays a lossless game. If the meeting does take place, he obviously won't make any statements that will lead to a conflict with the Congress. He'll bring them some document, wave it in their faces, and say, "We discussed reconciliation in Donbass with Putin. It's very important as both parties are interested. So, we discussed it. We talked about the Syrian issue. We discussed setting restrictions for certain systems that concern us." It'll be the same as with North Korea when he posed their summit as his merit. There might not even be anything to it. Nonetheless, he continues effectively selling the idea of this summit to the Americans. And I don't hear anyone say that Trump has failed it. His haters say he hasn't achieved any results. But he argues that he's opened a path to reconciliation and denuclearization.

That's what will happen after he meets with Putin. No matter how it goes or what they agree on, Trump will convey it to the Congress in a way that they will have no reason to reproach him. He'll report some topics that were discussed, which had to be discussed, and this is a very smart and logical thing to do for Trump.

— That's fascinating. Let's take a break. Dmitry Gennadyevich will share his version of the upcoming summit after the break. When two presidents meet in a neutral country, such statements about key issues are not enough. We need specific results. What will they be? We'll have to wait to find out.

— The arrangements are rather elaborate.