Under the fire of critics, Trump praises his "firmness" against Putin

Donald Trump on Wednesday praised his "firmness" against Vladimir Putin to try to quell the heated debate stemming from his very conciliatory statements to the Russian president in Helsinki on Monday as its convoluted denials since

"No president has been as strong as I am about Russia (…) I think President Putin knows it better than anyone, surely better than the media," he said. White House. "Look at the numbers, look what we did, look at the sanctions."

Asked shortly after whether Russia, accused of interfering in the US elections, was still targeting the United States, he answered by a simple "no".

Faced with this umpteenth controversy around the president's words, Sarah Sanders, his spokesman, badured that he had been misinterpreted and that this "no" only wanted to indicate that he would not answer the questions. "We believe that the threat still exists," she said.

Monday, the director of US intelligence, Dan Coats has put forward the "clear" evaluations of his services on Russian interference in the presidential election. 2016 and evoke Moscow's "ongoing efforts" to "undermine" American democracy

The US president's surprising press conference with his Russian counterpart in the Finnish capital has sparked an uproar in his own political camp, number of 'elect expressing unrestrained consternation.

In the face of the outcry, Trump attempted on Tuesday to limit the damage, baduring – without really convincing – that his tongue had pitched when he seemed to take the side of the strongman

Paradox for an American president: he was forced to say explicitly that he accepted the conclusions … US intelligence services that Russia has interfered in the election of 2016.

A recording?

The tete-a-tete of about two hours between the two leaders, in the absence of their advisers, is now the subject of intense speculation. Some elected officials even suggested that Mr. Trump's interpreter be questioned by Congress.

Is there a recording of their conversation? "Not to my knowledge," said Sarah Sanders.

"So many top intelligence people have loved my performance at a press conference in Helsinki," Trump tweeted Wednesday morning, reinforcing the sense that his move – partial face of the previous day had been imposed by his advisers.

"We got along very well, which really disturbed a lot of people filled with hate who wanted to see a boxing match," he said. added, promising "great results to come."

"Some DETEST the fact that I got along well with President Putin of Russia," he still tweeted Wednesday. "They would rather go to war than see that."

With the exception of Senator Rand Paul, few Republicans have openly defended the President's performance at the Helsinki Summit, the first bilateral meeting of the 45th US President and his Russian counterpart.

In the days leading up to his Finnish leg, in Brussels or London, Mr. Trump was generally of the opinion that the transatlantic links had been stretched, with his charges against Germany, the European Union or the United Kingdom

His tour triggered an avalanche of negative comments from multiple politicians and geopolitical experts, ranging from "surreal" to "traitor" to "embarrbading", "indefensible", "unthinking". 19659003] In an interview with Fox News, Trump also cracked down on relations with NATO allies, already tested at an extremely tense summit in Brussels.

The presid The United States seemed to question the principle of mutual defense, a cornerstone of the Alliance.

"If, for example, Montenegro is attacked, why should my son go to Montenegro to defend them?" asked him the journalist

"I understand what you're saying, I asked the same question," said Trump. "Montenegro is a very small country with very strong people (…) very aggressive," he continued.

Article 5 of the NATO treaty states that any attack against one of the countries is considered as an attack against all.

"In attacking Montenegro and questioning our obligations in NATO, the president is exactly the game Putin," lamented Republican Senator John McCain [19659003] 18/07/2018 22:01:27 –
Washington (AFP) –
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