President Trump was given an opportunity to call Russia a ‘security threat’ on Monday, but he instead spoke about ‘many countries’ that are a threat.
‘Would you consider Russia as a security threat?’ Trump got asked at a press conference with Finland’s President Sauli Niinistö by a Finnish reporter, who reminded the president that Russian planes have been conducting missions over the Baltic Sea using aircraft that didn’t turn their transponders on – thereby avoiding tracking by NATO aircraft.
Rather than slap Russia for the tactic in a region historically under Russia’s shadow, Trump spoke about generalized unnamed threats.
‘Well, I consider many countries as a security threat, unfortunately, when you look at what’s going on in the world today,’ Trump said.
U.S. President Donald Trump holds a joint news conference with Finland President Sauli Niinistö at the White House in Washington, U.S., August 28, 2017, where he declined to call Russia a ‘security threat’
The president continued, referencing a recent trip by Vice President Mike Pence to reassure Baltic nations.
‘As you know, a few weeks ago our great vice president, Mike Pence, who is right here, was in the region and spent quite a bit of time there,’ Trump said.
‘We consider that a very, very important part of the world. We have great relationships there. We have a great relationship with Finland,’ a nation that borders Russia.
‘And so I would consider many countries threats, but these are all threats that we’ll be able to handle if we have to. Hopefully we won’t have to handle them. But if we do, we will handle them,’ Trump said.
President Donald Trump turned down an opportunity to call Russia a ‘security threat’ Monday. ussian President Vladimir Putin walks along the Cathedral Square of the Kremlin before a holiday reception marking “Russia Day” in Moscow on June 12, 2017
Then he got asked if the situation in the Baltic were to escalate, what the U.S. would be ready to do.
Again, Trump – who recently warned North Korea about the ‘fire and fury’ it could face – was nonspecific.
‘Well, we are very protective of that region. That’s all I can say. We are very, very protective. We have great friends there, great relationships there. We are extremely protective,’ Trump said.
Trump’s decision not to criticize Russian President Vladimir Putin drew frequent comment during the presidential campaign.
A U.S. S B-52 bomber over Baltic Sea in Ventspils, Latvia 06 June 2017. Russia’s defense ministry informed that Russia scrambled an Su-27 fighter on, 06 June to intercept a US B-52 bomber over the Baltic Sea. The B-52 bomber which was in international airspace but close to the Russian border, was escorted away by the Russian plane
President Trump was asked at a press conference whether Russia was a ‘security threat’
Michael Cohen (R), a former executive vice president of the Trump Organization, wrote Russian President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman about a now-defunct Trump Tower Moscow deal during the presidential campaign
Trump and the Russian government have denied allegations of collusion to influence the election. In May, Trump met with Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Russia’s Ambassador to the United States Sergei Kislyak at the White House
On Monday, the Washington Post reported that Trump Organization attorney Michael Cohen wrote the top spokesman for Russian President Vladimir Putin seeking ‘assistance’ with a Trump Tower Moscow project, new bombshell documents turned over to Congress reveal.
The email is from January 2016, during the presidential campaign, and appears to contradict President Trump’s repeated assurances that he had nothing to do with Russia.
‘Over the past few months I have been working with a company based in Russia regarding the development of a Trump Tower – Moscow project in Moscow City,’ Trump Organization lawyer Michael Cohen wrote Putin spokesman Dmitri Peskov.
‘Without getting into lengthy specifics. the communication between our two sides has stalled,’ Cohen went on, a person familiar with the email told the Post.
‘As this project is too important, I am hereby requesting your assistance. I respectfully request someone, preferably you, contact me so that I might discuss the specifics as well as arranging meetings with the appropriate individuals. I thank you in advance for your assistance and look forward to hearing from you soon,’ Cohen wrote, in a message that has now been obtained by congressional investigators.