President Donald Trump is ‘highly unlikely’ to officially recognize Russia’s annexation of Crimea when he meets Vladimir Putin in Finland today but could end US objections to the invasion, his ambassador to Moscow has said.
But Jon Huntsman did not rule out the possibility that the president would end US objections to the 2014 invasion and seizure, which prompted international outrage.
Trump and Putin meet in Helsinki today in a summit that several Democrats – and Republican senator John McCain – have said should not go ahead unless Russia is held accountable for interfering in the 2016 presidential election.
Jon Huntsman did not rule out the possibility that the president would end US objections to the 2014 invasion and seizure, which prompted international outrage
Speaking to Fox News Sunday , Huntsman said: ‘The president’s the chief negotiator, not me’
Discussing the election, Huntsman said: ‘We have an election coming up in November, and if there is meddling in the election this November like we saw in 2016, we are not going to have much of a relationship’
U.S. President Donald Trump, left, and Finnish President Sauli Niinisto talk on the balcony of Niinisto’s official residence in Helsinki today
President Donald Trump is ‘highly unlikely’ to officially recognize Russia’s annexation of Crimea when he meets Vladimir Putin in Finland today, Jon Huntsman said. Pictured: A Russian flag surrounded by armed men in Simferopol, Crimea, Ukraine, in 2014
Speaking to Fox News Sunday, Huntsman said: ‘The president’s the chief negotiator, not me.
‘He has a good sense of what these issues are and has a good sense of where he wants to go.’
Discussing the election, Huntsman said: ‘We have an election coming up in November, and if there is meddling in the election this November like we saw in 2016, we are not going to have much of a relationship.’
He said there was ‘very little doubt in my mind’ about Russian meddling.
‘The investigation has rolled up almost 30 Russians in total, the process and the investigation are playing out, and that’s part of holding Russia accountable and responsible for election meddling and malign activity,’ he said.
But he added that ‘at some point’ it is necessary to ‘quit looking back at the rear-view mirror’ and ‘look forward’.
He also said Trump ‘is genuinely looking forward to sitting across the table and trying to reduce the tension in a relationship where our collective blood pressure is off-the-charts high.’
The two presidents have shared personal bonhomie in the past, but beyond the alleged hacking of the US election, their countries are deeply divided on a host of other issues including Syria and Ukraine.
Before coming to Europe, Trump predicted his meeting with Putin could be the ‘easiest’ stage of a tour that included stops in Brussels and Britain.
US Ambassador to Russia Jon Huntsman in Russia earlier this year
But he told CBS that he was going into it with ‘low expectations.’
Trump also defended his decision to hold the meeting after opposition Democrats, and Republican Senator John McCain, said the summit should be canceled in the wake of the indictments.
‘I believe it’s really good. So having meetings with Russia, China, North Korea, I believe in it. Nothing bad is going to come out of it, and maybe some good will come out,’ the president said.
Trump told CBS that ‘Russia is a foe in certain respects,’ and also named the European Union and China as ‘foes’ economically, over trade practices for which Washington has imposed sanctions, sparking a trade war.
US National Security Adviser John Bolton said that, after the indictments, Trump ‘can put this on the table and say, this is a serious matter that we need to talk about.’
He told ABC’s ‘This Week’ that ‘it’s very important that the president has a direct one-on-one conversation’ with Putin, and that European leaders support it.