The Russia connectionTrump-Putin G20 chat had no U.S. oversight

Published 29 January 2019

The White House acknowledged last month that President Trump did have an informal conversation with Vladimir Putin at the G20 in Buenos Aires in late November, but now the Financial Times reports the two men met without a U.S. translator, note-taker, or even administration aide present. Former US national security officials have said that while it would be unusual for U.S. presidents to be accompanied by a translator or aide while meeting allies, standard practice while meeting US adversaries would be to engage in discussions with staff on hand.

The White House acknowledgedlast month that President Trump did have an informal conversation with Vladimir Putinat the G20 in Buenos Aires in late November, but now the Financial Timesreports the two men met without a U.S. translator, note-taker, or even administration aide present. 

Trump was accompanied by Melania Trump, his wife, but no staff, while Putin was flanked by his translator. The four of them sat at a table and were among the last to leave.

The Hill:

Trump was joined by his wife Melania Trump, but there was no note-taker or translator from the U.S. at the meeting. Putin was reportedly accompanied by a translator, with all four at a table.

A Russian government official told the Financial Times that the talk lasted about 15 minutes and included discussions about the Syrian conflict and a clash days earlier between Russian forces and the Ukrainian navy. Trump and Putin also talked about the potential for a formal meeting, the official said.

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Trump was slated to meet formally with Putin at the G-20 summit, but scrapped those plans as he took off for Argentina, citing Moscow’s military tensions with Ukraine at the time.

Days before the summit, Ukraine said Russia fired on some of its ships in the Kerch Strait near Crimea, hitting two vessels and injuring two crew members. Russia then seized both ships and a tugboat, Ukraine said.

Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014, prompting significant international backlash and sanctions against Moscow.

Financial Times:

The decision to meet Mr Putin and potentially discuss sensitive matters without advisers or a White House translator just two months ago could trigger new alarm bells about Mr Trump and his relationship with the Kremlin at a time when Robert Mueller, the special counsel, is still investigating his 2016 campaign’s ties to Russia.

This month, The Washington Post reported that Mr Trump had sought to hide details of previous conversations with Mr Putin, including at the G20 summit in Hamburg in 2017, frustrating some top officials.

Mr. Trump denied he tried to conceal details of the talks, saying informal chats at major summits were commonplace. “We have those meetings all the time, no big deal,” he said this month.

The issue surfaced in a congressional hearing on Tuesday when Gina Haspel, CIA head, and Dan Coats, director of national intelligence, were asked if US efforts to understand Russian activities would be harmed by their lack of information about what Mr Trump had discussed with Mr Putin.

“Clearly this is a sensitive issue and it’s an issue that we ought to talk about this afternoon,” Mr Coats told the Senate intelligence committee in a reference to a closed-door hearing that was scheduled to follow the open hearing in the morning.

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Former US national security officials have said that while it would be unusual for U.S. presidents to be accompanied by a translator or aide while meeting allies, standard practice while meeting US adversaries would be to engage in discussions with staff on hand.