BRUSSELS — NATO leaders meeting for a summit in Brussels on July 11-12 will discuss Russia with U.S. President Donald J. Trump ahead of his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Helsinki.
This discussion will take place in Brussels on July 11, during the NATO summit, Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg told during a press conference.
Stoltenberg said he welcome the upcoming meeting between Trump and Putin on July 16. “That is fully in line with NATO policies. NATO believes, in what we call dual-track approach to Russia, combining defense with dialogue,” Stoltenberg explained.
He underlined that the alliance does not want “a new cold war and arms race” and that “Russia is our neighbor. We need dialogue with Russia on many different levels for better relations with Russia. But even without a better relationship it is important to talk to Russia to manage a difficult relationship to avoid risks, miscalculations, misunderstandings, incidents and accidents. I think it is an absolutely right thing that President Trump meets President Putin,” Stoltenberg said.
He welcomes the fact that allies during the July 11 dinner will be able to discuss with Trump, “ahead of the meeting with President Putin, NATO’s relationship with Russia.”
Ahead of the Helsinki meeting, a lot of concerns are expressed by experts, triggered by Trump’s remarks during the recent G7 meeting in Canada, where he told leaders that Crimea is Russian because everyone who lives there speaks Russian.
U.S. Ambassador to NATO Kay Bailey Hutchison underlined that “it has been the position of the U.S. and NATO that Crimea was taken illegally and that she hopes “very much that we will be able to return Crimea to its rightful place as a part of Ukraine and then, of course, the eastern part of Ukraine. There is a lot of trouble that was committed by Russian forces. It is very important that the sovereignty of Ukraine be recognized and the U.S. position is the position of NATO. The position of the U.S. and NATO is that Crimea is a part of Ukraine,” she said.
Hutchison believes Trump will pass alliance concerns, about Ukraine and Crimea, to Putin. “He has said that he will,” she said. “The president believes that it is important to have a relationship with Russia, that we can talk about the importance of Russia doing better. They can do better but they are not.”
