Trump says he's going to raise electoral interference with Putin

by Ken Thomas and Jill Colvin | MORRISTOWN, NJ – US President Donald Trump said Friday that he was planning to meddle with the Russian elections at his upcoming summit with Vladimir Putin, as part of a broad list of topics that Trump could told reporters on board the Air Force One that he planned to discuss Ukraine, Syria and Crimea, as well as electoral interference when he meets the Russian president in Helsinki In Finland, next month in a summit he said it could help defuse tensions between Moscow and Washington.

"We will talk about elections, we do not want anyone to falsify elections," Trump said. The president has repeatedly downplayed the conclusion of the US intelligence community that Russia has been ingested in the 2016 election.

He tweeted on Thursday, "Russia continues to say that they have nothing to do with Meddling in our election! " called the FBI inquiry into the potential Russian coordination with his campaign a "witch hunt" designed to delegitimize his presidency.

Trump was indifferent when asked if he could lift the sanctions imposed on Russia, telling reporters: Is that. We will talk to Russia about many things. We will talk to them about Syria, we will talk to them about Ukraine. We could even talk about some of the things that President Obama lost, like Crimea, that might come up. "

Asked if the United States could recognize Crimea as part of Russia, he said:" We must see "And then said that the situation was treated" unfortunately "by his predecessor, the president Barack Obama.

Trump has already suggested that Russia should be allowed to return to the Group of Seven – formerly eight – economic powers.Putine was expelled from the international group in 2014 after Russia moved troops into the country. East of Ukraine and annexed the Black Sea Peninsula of Crimea The leaders of the other G7 countries – Great Britain, Canada, Italy, France, Germany and Japan – have all made it clear that Russia would not be welcome as long as it would not bring back the Crimea to Ukraine.

The European Union and the Allied countries, the sanctions imposed on Russia on the Crimea, and even members of the Trump cabinet have dec that they will not be up until the situation is resolved.

During the flight Friday at his New Jersey Golf Club, Trump invited to have a glimpse of the NATO summit next month in Brussels. He reiterated his intention to urge other NATO members to devote more of their budget to defense.

"Germany has to spend more money," he said. "Spain, France, it's unfair what they did in the United States."

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