Trump calls upon Putin to stop destabilization

U.S. President Trump called upon Russia to stop destabilizing the situation in Ukraine and other countries in a public address in Warsaw on July 6. Later that day, Trump met with German Chancellor Merkel on June 6 on the eve of the G20 summit in Hamburg to discuss the fulfillment of the Minsk Accords, the White House press service said.

Trump’s informal meeting with Putin today at the G20 summit will involve U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, reported thehill.com news site. National security adviser H.R. McMaster told reporters last week there is “no specific agenda” for the meeting. “It’s really going to be whatever the president wants to talk about,” he said.

Key White House and U.S. State Department officials are worried about the meeting because of the potential risks that Trump will offer “giveaways” to Putin, said former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine Steven Pifer, as reported by the New York Times.

Zenon Zawada: Trump has made clear that he’s letting his foreign policy team lead the agenda, which – in the case of Ukraine – has been fully in line with the Obama administration’s approach. There are no indications Trump will stray from this consistent policy on Ukraine, which has been upheld since he became president. As further proof of his tough stance, Trump delivered a warning against Russia in Warsaw, ahead of his meeting with Putin.