PRESS RELEASE
Putin Ready for Meeting with Trump, Foreign Minister Lavrov Confirms
Nov. 8, 2017 (EIRNS)—Speaking on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Da Nang, Vietnam, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Russian President Vladimir Putin is prepared to hold a meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump.
"We hear Donald Trump’s statements that he plans to hold this meeting with President Putin, and President Putin is ready for this. The Americans know about this. The protocol services are in contact, and when the leaders’ schedules are finally clear, you will be told about this,"
Lavrov told reporters. He said that he himself might also meet with U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson. "Tillerson will arrive here only with President Trump, that’s why we will contact already during the summit directly," Lavrov said.
On the discussions, Lavrov said,
"These will include both bilateral ties, which should be mended thoroughly after the team of [previous U.S. President Barack] Obama worked hard to worsen them, and international relations, Syria, North Korea, and Ukraine."
Commenting on prospects for U.S.-Russian relations, Lavrov said Trump’s political opponents are trying to prevent him from reaching agreements with Russia.
"President Trump is prevented from exercising his presidential powers, in particular, with regard to cooperation on cybersecurity with us. In Hamburg, the possibility of reviving cooperation on preventing cybercrime was indeed discussed. President Trump found this proposal to be very promising. However, the Congress immediately raised a hue and cry.... That’s why, of course, we can reach agreements, but, unfortunately, they immediately become elements of internal political struggle, internal political games with a view to making President Trump’s life and performance as difficult as possible,"
Lavrov remarked.
Lavrov said facts have revealed a domestic trace in the U.S. Democratic Party cyber attacks.
"Well-known facts show that not a single Russian trace has been found in these cases so far," he said.
"The traces there are domestic: in particular, intervention and leaking information to competitors were revealed within the Democratic Party, in the U.S. Democratic National Committee."
