Anticipating 71-year-old President Donald Trump’s July 7 face-to-face meeting with 64-year-old Russian President Vladimir Putin, the U.S. press tries sabotage the encounter, despite knowing mounting tensions in the Korean Peninsula. With North Korean President Kim Jong-un testing an Intercontinental Ballistic Missile [ICBM] July 4, the stakes have never been higher with Trump to reset U.S.-Russian relations. Too busy accusing Russia of meddling in the 2016 U.S. election, the press can’t see the value of finding common ground, starting somewhere, to mend U.S.-Russian relations. As long as the focus is on Russia interference in the election, the press won’t permit the commander-in-chief to do what’s best for U.S. national security. There’s zero advantage to the U.S. keeping Moscow its enemy, instead of finding common ground on pressing foreign policy challenges.
No challenge is greater for Trump than dealing with North Korea’s nuclear and ballistic weapons programs. North Korea has threatened the U.S. with nuclear war once it has the technology to deliver a nuke on an ICBM to the U.S. homeland. Trump has changed the past Bush-43 and Obama administrations’ policy of “strategic patience,” letting North Korea continue to develop its nuke and ballistic missile programs.. Letting Kim work on more advanced nukes and ballistic weapon systems now threatens U.S. national security. Instead of antagonizing Putin by focusing on Russian meddling in the 2016 election, Trump wants to reset U.S.-Russian relations, focusing instead on fighting the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria [ISIS] and neutralizing Kim’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs. Whatever happened in the 2016 election, it shouldn’t interfere with today’s global priorities
It does U.S. national security no good to keep Russia a global enemy, letting Putin partner with U.S. adversaries. U.S. intel agencies must do a better job in the future with cyber security, something that allowed hackers to expose U.S. vulnerabilities. Whether or not Putin ordered hacking of the Democratic National Committee or personal email account of former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton’s campaign Chairman John Podesta, it’s water under the bridge. Trump’s must be laser focused meeting with Putin on finding common ground, resolving any remaining hitches and moving head to repair U.S.-Russian relations. Watching the U.S. press insinuate that Trump has some nefarious relationship with Putin does nothing other than throw another roadblock into the latest attempt to mend fences. Putin wants better relations with the U.S. to advance Russia’s global economic standing.
Whatever Trump did in Russia hosting the Miss Universe pageant in 2013, it’s not relevant today, including whether or not he had contact with Putin or other Russian officials. Meeting in Hamburg gives both sides a real opportunity to get back on the right track. Since Putin invaded Crimea March 1, 2014, the U.S. under former President Barack Obama, European Council President Jean Claude Juncker and European Parliament President Donald Tusk have ostracized Putin, despite the EU buying some 30% of natural gas and petroleum from Russia. Instead of working on resolving the Crimea problem, the U.S. and EU have only applied more punitive economic sanctions, alienating Putin. When both heads of state meet Friday, Trump needs to be free of the conspiracy theories that he has some covert agenda with Putin. Improving U.S.-Russian relations should pay dividends for both sides.
Accused of having a secret relationship with Putin, the press routinely accuses Trump of collusion with the Kremlin in the 2016 election. With war on the Korean Peninsula looming, it’s time for the press and anti-Russian crowd on Capitol Hill to let Trump be commander-in-chief. Continuing to disparage Putin in the press or in Congress makes reconciliation impossible. Whether or not Trump has to make some token concessions to Putin, including giving him back seized diplomatic compounds in Washington and Maryland, or even ending certain obsolete economic sanctions, should be Trump’s call. It does no one any good to continue the current rift, adding to dangerous problems around the globe. Improving U.S.-Russian relations, regardless of ongoing differences, should improve U.S. leverage in the Middle East and North Korea, both badly needed in today’s situation.
Instead of wishing for failure, the press should back Trump’s attempt to reset U.S.-Russian relations. If the press really wants world peace, it’s time to let Trump do what’s necessary to improve U.S.-Russian relations. Letting things deteriorate to post-Cold War lows does the world no good, when it’s possible for the U.S. and Russia to find common ground. If there’s any way to resolve the Ukrainian situation, it going to happen with Putin feeling he’s more accepted by the West. Since annexing Crimea and moving troops in pro-Russian areas in Southeastern Ukraine, Putin has alienated the U.S. and EU, looking to resolve situation in Ukraine. Trump heard an earful from Poland today and Baltic states about their fears of a Russian invasion. However real or unreal the fears, the situation would be greatly helped by Trump and Putin easing tensions and finding common ground in Hamburg.
