Times: London is concerned about the possibility of a meeting between Putin and trump before the NATO summit
LONDON, June 21. /TASS/ — According to the publication, in the British government believe that these negotiations could impact negatively on the commitment of the White house to the common objectives of the Alliance.
London alarmed by the possibility of a meeting in July between the presidents of Russia and USA Vladimir Putin and Donald trump, especially if it takes place before the NATO summit and the visit of the head of the American administration in the UK. This was reported in the Thursday newspaper the Times, citing an unnamed senior source in the British government and Western diplomatic source.
“It is not clear, for holding this meeting before the [summit] of NATO and the visit of the [trump] to the UK or after. Of course, for us it would be better if it was after,” — leads edition of the words of the source in Whitehall. “It gives a different dynamics to the already colorful week,” he added.
The Times writes that the main concern of London in light of a possible meeting between the leaders of Russia and the United States, which, according to the newspaper, with a high degree of probability is considered the headquarters of OSCE in Vienna, is that it can negatively affect commitment trump the common objectives of NATO and the results of his trip to the UK, which is scheduled for July 13.
“All are concerned about what is happening, fear for the future of the [North Atlantic] Alliance,” — said the interlocutor of the newspaper in the British government.
A Western diplomatic source told the publication that a similar meeting on the eve of the NATO summit, scheduled for July 11-12 in Brussels, could lead to “confusion and concern”. “It will be a very negative event,” he said.
In this regard, The Times recalls that in early June, trump offered to bring Russia back into the “Big eight”, where she was eliminated in 2014, after the events around the Crimea. This statement the American President has violated the plans of British Prime Minister Theresa may to achieve international isolation of Russia in response to the incident in Salisbury, where early in March, was poisoned ex-GRU officer Sergey Skripal and his daughter Julia (London believes Moscow is responsible for this, Russia categorically denies the accusations). The newspaper also indicates that trump has linked the question of NATO funding with trading disputes with the EU and subjected to special criticism a position of Germany.
On Saturday, the Washington Post, citing “U.S. administration of high rank, and two diplomats” reported that trump is expected to meet with Putin in July in Europe, where the American leader is to attend the NATO summit. After a telephone conversation of presidents on 20 March the foreign Ministers of Russia and the USA were instructed to study the question of the leaders ‘ meeting, thus on 4 June, the Russian presidential aide Yuri Ushakov said that the summit is not conducted.