Trump pressing for big meeting with Putin: report

by Rebecca Savransky - 06/26/17 8:22 AM ET

President Trump is reportedly pressing for a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin during the G20 summit next month in Germany.

But according to The Associated Press, some of Trump’s advisers, including officials in the State Department and on the National Security Council, are not so keen on the idea and are encouraging more restraint.

A current and a former administration official told the news service that Trump wants media access and the normal protocol associated with such meetings.

{mosads}Some advisers, however, have suggested Trump instead conduct a “pull-aside” meeting on the sidelines of the summit, the AP reported.

Putin’s spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, told reporters Monday that “the protocol side of it is secondary” when asked about Trump being eager for a full bilateral meeting between the two leaders, according to the AP.

“In any case there will be a chance to meet,” he said, adding that there are no arrangements yet set for the potential meeting.

Steven Pifer, a former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine, told the news service that if the two meet, Trump has to “say to Putin, ‘We’re not happy about you interfering in our election.’”

“If you don’t say that, you are going to get hammered by the press and Congress and you can guarantee Congress will pass sanctions legislation against Russia,” he said.

“They also need to keep their expectations very, very modest,” Pifer added. “If they aim for a home run in Hamburg, my guess is they’ll strike out.”

The meeting would come amid multiple investigations into the Russia’s meddling in the U.S. presidential race, including into any possible collusion between members of Trump’s campaign and Moscow.

Trump has decried the Russia probe as a “witch hunt,” and Putin has denied interference in the U.S. election.

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