Donald Trump calls the EU an "enemy" on the eve of his meeting with Russian President Putin

On the eve of his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, US President Donald Trump once again shook the allies by calling the European Union "enemy" of trade.

In an interview before the summit of CBS News' "Face the Nation" program aired on Sunday, Mr. Trump ranked the EU among China and Russia as economic adversaries US. "I think the European Union is an enemy, what they do to us in trade," he said.

million. Trump and Putin will meet in Helsinki on Monday for their first independent meeting since the inauguration of Trump in January 2017. Trump arrived in Helsinki on Sunday night after spending the day playing golf in his private club in Scotland. .

The Helsinki summit, which is one of the most crucial moments for the West since the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, alarmed some of the country's allies. NATO who fear that Putin is seeking an agreement that would undermine the US transatlantic. Alliance.

At the NATO summit in Brussels last week, Trump repeatedly criticized other member countries for not spending more on defense, and openly questioned the purpose of the defense. # 39; alliance.

In recent months, he has also been very critical of the EU in trade terms, arguing that his policies complicate the task of US exporters.

After Mr. Trump called the EU "enemy", Donald Tusk, President of the European Council, responded on Twitter, using one of the favorite stock phrases of Trump.

"America and the EU are best friends," wrote Tusk. "Whoever says we are enemies spreads false news."

million. Trump and his collaborators worked during the weekend to soften the hopes of tangible results of the meeting in Russia.

"I'm going with low expectations," Trump told CBS. John Bolton, Donald Trump's national security adviser, said in an interview with ABC "This Week" that the US would not look for "deliverables" and that the meeting would be "unstructured". a session between the two leaders.

The US ambbadador to Russia, Jon Huntsman, told NBC "Meet the Press" that the meeting was "an attempt to see if we can defuse and take some of the drama, and frankly part of the danger , on the relationship right now. "

An investigation into allegations of Russian interference in the 2016 US presidential election overshadowed Trump's presidency. Trump has denied any complicity with the Russians by his campaign and Russia denies that he has ingested himself.

MOST BRIGHT FOCUS

For Mr. Trump, the official meeting with Vladimir Putin is an opportunity to develop a closer working relationship with the Russian president.

They have already met twice on the sidelines of international summits. Last November, in Vietnam, they agreed to maintain open military channels of communication between their forces in Syria.

million. Trump has sometimes puzzled his own advisers with his unqualified desire for close ties with Putin, White House sources said. Most US officials see Putin as an unsavory character on the world stage.

US authorities have said they hope to make progress in the talks, persuading Russia to use its influence to bring Iranian forces out of Syria, as part of a broader campaign aimed at to limit the Iranian influence in the Middle East.

They also expect Mr. Trump to discuss Russia's incursion into Ukraine and allegations of Russian interference in the elections. Other issues include the potential for nuclear arms negotiations and North Korea's nuclear challenge, as US officials have said Russia has worked in the past to help Pyongyang bypbad international sanctions.

Huntsman said on Sunday that it was "highly unlikely" that the United States recognize the annexation of Crimea by Russia in 2014 but do not rule it out.

German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas warned Trump against any unilateral deal with Russia that would cost the western allies of the United States.

The meeting comes a few days after 12 Russian intelligence officers were indicted by a US federal grand jury for hacking the Democrats before the 2016 elections, the most detailed US accusation yet that Moscow is still in power. is mixed election to help Donald Trump.

When CBS asked him if he would ask Putin to extradite the Russians to the United States, Trump said he could do it. The Russian constitution prohibits the extradition of its own citizens.

"I did not think about it," Trump said. "But certainly, I will ask questions about it."

The Senate 's top Senate Intelligence Committee Democrat, Mark Warner, said he was worried that Trump would be alone in the room with Putin, without his help to national security.

"We know that Trump does not do a lot of preparation work for these meetings, he usually goes there," Warner said in NBC's "Meet the Press."

The President has repeatedly stated that the investigation into the Russian interference in the elections is a "faked witch hunt" that makes it difficult to reach substantive agreements with Moscow [19659035] (function () {
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