{"id":29268,"date":"2018-07-05T16:35:35","date_gmt":"2018-07-05T16:35:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2018\/07\/05\/ahead-of-summit-lawmakers-worry-over-what-trump-will-say-to-putin\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T22:25:48","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T22:25:48","slug":"ahead-of-summit-lawmakers-worry-over-what-trump-will-say-to-putin","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/congress\/2018\/07\/05\/ahead-of-summit-lawmakers-worry-over-what-trump-will-say-to-putin\/","title":{"rendered":"Ahead of summit, lawmakers worry over what Trump will say to Putin"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

WASHINGTON \u2014 As U.S. President Donald Trump gets set to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin<\/a> in Helsinki, Finland, this month, U.S. lawmakers are reminding him that Russia is a bad actor and not a friend.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But on Thursday, administration officials were offering public assurances that they\u2019ve got this under control. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The U.S. ambassador to Russia, Jon Huntsman, told reporters that the July 16 summit between the two superpower leaders will include discussions of holding Russia \u201caccountable for its malign activities,\u201d which he characterized as a potential national security threat. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe president hopes that a meeting can help reduce tensions and lead to constructive engagement that improves peace and security throughout the world,\u201d Huntsman said. \u201cBecause you can\u2019t solve problems if you aren\u2019t talking about them.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A senior administration official confirmed issues on the agenda will include Russia\u2019s support of Syrian military forces, its occupation of Ukrainian territory and its interference in U.S. elections. But the official also acknowledged that Trump will drive the conversation and could deviate from those planned discussion points. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s the fear of multiple members of Congress who see Trump\u2019s handling of Putin thus far as too accommodating. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Corker, R-Tenn., during his trip to the Baltics this week called Russia \u201cdestabilizing\u201d and sent a veiled warning to Trump not to recognize Russia\u2019s 2014 annexation of Crimea.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cRecognizing Crimea as part of Russia would undermine the rules-based international order that was created with U.S. leadership and has caused democracy to thrive around the world and made America a safer home for our citizens,\u201d Corker said in a tweet<\/a> on Monday, without mentioning Trump directly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
SIMFEROPOPL, UKRAINE – MARCH 12: Armed men believed to be Russian military patrol outside a Ukrainian military base on March 12, 2014 in Simferopol, Ukraine. As the standoff between the Russian military and Ukrainian forces continues in Ukraine’s Crimean peninsula, world leaders are pushing for a diplomatic solution to the escalating situation. Crimean citizens will vote in a referendum on 16 March on whether to become part of the Russian federation. (Photo by Dan Kitwood\/Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In the \u201cupcoming Helsinki summit, the U.S. must stand firmly with our NATO allies and affirm our transatlantic partnership. Doing otherwise strengthens Putin and undermines democratic values,\u201d Corker added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Corker was not the only member of Congress in the region. A day later, a group of Republican lawmakers met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Moscow in hopes of reviving relations between the two countries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala., said he\u2019s come to realize \u201cwe have a strained relationship, but we could have a better relationship between the U.S. and Russia,\u201d according to Radio Free Europe<\/a> video footage. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

His view of the upcoming meeting was more upbeat than Corker\u2019s. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019re hoping that coming out of the Putin-Trump meeting will be the beginning of a new day,\u201d Shelby said. \u201cWe will have to wait and see, but we recognize the world\u2019s better off, I believe, if Russia and the U.S. have fewer tensions.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The fighting in Ukraine, the Syrian war and allegations that Russia meddled in U.S. elections have frayed ties between Washington and Moscow. The lawmakers urged Russia to leave upcoming midterms alone, with Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., telling The Associated Press<\/a> he called for a \u201cchange in behavior\u201d on Moscow\u2019s part.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Democrats took aim at the optics of Senate Republicans meeting with Russians on Independence Day, not long after the Senate Intelligence Committee announced its findings: that Putin was trying to help Trump when Moscow meddled in the 2016 election.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

California Democratic Rep. Eric Swallwell, a senior member of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, accused the Republicans via Twitter on Wednesday of \u201ccozying up\u201d with Russians, adding: \u201cIf they can\u2019t confront Russia, shouldn\u2019t they just stay?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yet Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont., and a delegate on the trip, told Fox News<\/a> on Thursday that the lawmakers talked tough with Russian officials about their allied nuclear arms treaty violations. Dialogue between the two nuclear-armed nations is important, he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis relationship is at a very strained level, arguably the lowest its been post Cold War,\u201d Daines said. \u201cWe sent a very strong message and direct message to the Russian government: First of all, don\u2019t interfere in U.S. elections; second, respect the sovereignty of Ukraine and exit Crimea; and third, work with us in bringing about peace in Syria instead of working against us.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The talks came ahead of the NATO summit<\/a> in Brussels next week, from where Trump will depart for the meeting with Putin. With relations between the U.S. and its European allies already strained over Trump\u2019s trade policies, he reportedly sent letters to European leaders threatening consequences if they do not step up their defense spending. (The Pentagon reportedly<\/a> studied the cost of keeping U.S. troops in Germany.)<\/p>\n\n\n\t