Vladimir Putin is scheduled to meet Donald Trump in Paris after the later threatened to leave Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces treaty. In mid-November 2016 shortly after the election of Donald Trump as the US president, Russia accused Obama’s administration of trying to damage the US relationship with Russia..
Vladimir Putin is scheduled to meet Donald Trump in Paris after the latter threatened to leave Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces treaty.
Background
In mid-November 2016 shortly after the election of Donald Trump as the US president, Russia accused Obama’s administration of trying to damage the US relationship with Russia to a degree that would render normalization impossible for the incoming administration of Donald Trump – but nevertheless, they agreed to cooperate.
In December 2016, Obama ordered the intelligence agencies to review evidence of Russian interference in the 2016 presidential campaign. In early March 2017, the US military publicly accused Russia of having deployed a land-based cruise missile that they said violated the 1987 INF treaty and posed a threat to NATO.
In January 2018, directors of Russia’s three main intelligence and security agencies visited the US unannounced, which caused a political controversy in the US. After the Helsinki summit, Trump authorized CAATSA law and 13 Russians were indicted by the US Department of Justice for “malicious cyber enabled activities”. Trump also expelled 60 Russian diplomats from the US following the poisoning of former KGB agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter in the UK. In October 2018, Trump intended to withdraw the US from INF treaty.
The pressure is on Trump to take tougher actions against Russia.
Analysis
US President Donald Trump and Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin plan to meet in Paris next month, amid growing tensions between the US and Russia around the Intermediate Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF).
This is their first encounter since the summit in Helsinki, Finland that unleashed a storm of criticism that Trump was cosying up to the Russian President. Putin and Trump have met several times on the sidelines of multilateral gatherings.
After a meeting in Moscow between Putin and Trump’s national security adviser, John Bolton, officials on both sides said a preliminary agreement on a Nov. 11 meeting in the French capital had been reached, and that detailed arrangements were underway. Bolton was in Moscow to convey US plans to withdraw from the 1987 INF treaty.
Putin told Bolton at the beginning of their meeting that he wants to continue a dialogue with Trump that began at a July summit in Helsinki. Putin said it’s important to maintain Russia-U.S. dialogue, despite differences. “Despite our differences which exist because of our different national interests, it’s still important to work in areas where there is a possibility of mutual cooperation,” Bolton said.
Both presidents plan to be in Paris for events to commemorate the centenary of the end of World War I, and they are planning to hold a bilateral meeting on the sidelines, according to Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov. ” After the bilateral summit in Helsinki, Trump’s Democratic Party opponents, and some members of his own Republican Party accused him of failing to stand up to Putin, especially over allegations that Russia meddled in the 2016 U.S. Presidential elections. At a post-summit news conference alongside the Russian President, Trump questioned the findings of US intelligence agencies that Russia had tried to influence the elections.
Trump announced that the United States will pull out of the 31-year-old Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty because of his claims that Russia has violated that pact “for many years.” Bolton said that the US hasn’t yet filed a formal notice of withdrawal from the pact.
Trump’s vow to abandon the INF has caused concern in Europe and brought arms control matters to the forefront of ties between the former Cold War foes, whose relations are severely strained due to an array of disputes, despite the stated hopes of both Trump and Putin for improvements.
Assessment
Our assessment is that although Trump has been tough with his decisions with regards to Russia, he wants an improvement in US-Russia relations. Senior US Republicans feel that the alleged Russian interference in the 2016 voting did not materially affect the outcome of the 2016 presidential election, but it did create mistrust.
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