Trump calls the European Union an "enemy" – ahead of Russia and China | News from the world

Donald Trump described the European Union as one of his greatest enemies in another extraordinary diplomatic intervention, just hours before sitting down to a high-level summit with the president Russian Vladimir Putin. The US president began by naming the European Union, calling his body "very difficult" before getting rid of other traditional rivals like Russia and China.

A few hours earlier, British Prime Minister Theresa May revealed Trump suggested that she "sue the EU" rather than start negotiations on Brexit

"Well I think we have a lot of enemies, "Trump told CBS News in his Turnberry golf club in Scotland. "I think the European Union is an enemy, what they do to us in trade.Now you would not think of the European Union, but they are an enemy."

Apparently caught unawares, anchor Jeff Glor replied, "Many people might be surprised to hear you say that the EU is an enemy before China and Russia."

But Trump insisted : "The EU is very difficult, I respect the leaders of these countries."

Trump's controversial tour across Europe overthrew post-war Western relations, the president "Training with NATO leaders in Brussels and lambasting the May Brexit strategy in the Sun newspaper." His remarks reflect one of the fundamental beliefs of this president: America. is exploited by his allies

Donald Tusk, President of the European Council, tweeted : "America and America t the EU are the best friends. Whoever says we are enemies spreads false news. "

Trump left Scotland for Helsinki, where the allies are concerned about the common ground that he will find with Putin when they meet at the Finnish presidential palace.Completely terrified foreign policy community." undermined the traditional alliances

From Air Force One, while the media control intensified, the president unleashed a bizarre volley of tweets : "Unfortunately, it does not matter how Well, I do it at the Summit, if I was given the big city of Moscow in retaliation for all the sins and evils committed by Russia … over the years, I would come back to the criticism that it was not enough – that I "

Trump added :" A large part of our media is indeed the enemy of the people and all the members [de l'OMPI] know how to resist and obstruct! why there is such hatred and dissension in our country – but at some point it will heal! "

The Kremlin called the summit" "but the event will include a session at which only the two leaders and their interpreters will attend." It is expected that Putin and Trump will discuss issues of nuclear weapons treaties to the conflict in Syria, but with a very vaguely defined agenda.

"I leave with very low expectations," Trump said on CBS. In his remarks, the president admitted no "Have not thought" to ask Putin to extradite 12 Russians charged with stealing data from the Democratic Party's organs before the 2016 elections. "I could," he said. I had not thought about that. But I will certainly ask questions about it. "

Trump was informed of the indictments, made by the special advocate Robert Mueller, before their announcement Friday. Mueller investigates Russian electoral interference and links between Trump's aides and Moscow. Four members of the Trump campaign, including his first national security advisor and a former campaign manager, were charged. Trump denies collusion and has repeatedly called the investigation "a faked witch hunt".

National Security Advisor John Bolton told ABC News that he was expecting Trump to press Putin on electoral interference. One of the objectives of this meeting is that the President can agree with President Putin and ask him questions about it, "said Mr. Bolton, on the question of whether Mr. Putin was aware of the piracy

. "

" Trump basically says that the charge is only a witch hunt, "said Adam Schiff, a member of the US intelligence committee. the House of Representatives, to CNN. "This is a great gift for Vladimir Putin."

Mark Warner, Senate Democratic Rankings The intelligence group told CNN that he did not think Putin would "release these 12 Russian spies to the US government."

Trump also reiterated a request made on Saturday in tweets, accusing his predecessor of having reacted i to Russian interference Barack Obama's chief of staff, Denis McDonough, said that the Republican minority leader of the Senate, Mitch McConnell, had "drastically watered down" a bipartisan statement issued before the elections. After the elections, Obama imposed sanctions on Russia.

Trump said, "I think the DNC [Comité national démocrate] should be ashamed to allow themselves to be hacked in. They had bad defenses and they could be hacked." But I heard that They were trying to hack Republicans as well, but – and this may be wrong – but they had much stronger defenses. "

US Secret Service leaders said the Trump administration was not doing enough to counter Russian activity continues. On Saturday, Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen told a rally of officials that there was no sign that Russia was aiming for 2018 deadlines at the "scale and scope" of 39, two years ago

Washington anxiously monitors the meeting in Helsinki. Max Bergmann, a member of the Action Fund of the Center for American Progress (PAC), has expressed concern that Trump will make false agreements on Crimea, Ukraine or Syria and that he agrees something that even his administration would not consider acceptable.

He said, "This leaves Washington's foreign policy community completely terrified." Last week, Trump sowed discord in Europe and undermined traditional alliances: these are all goals that Russia has had since the 1980s. Soviet Union. "

There is little hope that Trump will reprimand Putin for the electoral interference, added Bergmann, who served in the state department from 2011 to 2017. [19659002] "It is odd that the leader of the most powerful country in the world meets the president of a weak country on his knees," he said. "Any other US president, if three days earlier the Justice Department said that Russia has been ingested in the elections, would probably have canceled the summit or faced the confrontation, redrawing the red lines and saying: "If you do it again, we will respond so aggressively that it is not worth it. "There is no expectation that this will happen."

Trump defended his decision to meet Putin. "I think it's a good thing to meet," he said. "… I think having a meeting with President Kim [Jong-un of North Korea] was a good thing.I think having meetings with the President of China [Xi Jinping] was a very good thing .. then having meetings with Russia, China, North Korea, I believe in it, nothing bad will come out of it, and maybe some good will come out. "

Bolton, however, told ABC that the White House "was not looking for concrete deliverables". But, he said, "it is very important that the President has a one-on-one conversation with President Putin and that is how it will begin."