US President Trump seeks big meeting with Putin but more caution is needed, pundits say

Many administration officials believe the US needs to maintain its distance from Russia at such a sensitive time – and interact only with great caution.

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Traditional Russian Matryoshka wooden dolls also known as nesting dolls with the images of US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow. Photo: EPA

Published: 11:30pm, 26 Jun 2017Updated: 8:12am, 27 Jun 2017

President Donald Trump is eager to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin with full diplomatic bells and whistles when the two are in Germany for a multinational summit next month. But the idea is exposing deep divisions within the administration on the best way to approach Moscow in the midst of an ongoing investigation into Russian meddling in the US elections.

Many administration officials believe the US needs to maintain its distance from Russia at such a sensitive time – and interact only with great caution.

But Trump and some others within his administration have been pressing for a full bilateral meeting. He’s calling for media access and all the typical protocol associated with such sessions, even as officials within the State Department and National Security Council urge more restraint, according to a current and a former administration official.

US President Donald Trump is eager for a meeting with Putin. Photo: EPA

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Some advisers have recommended that the president instead do either a quick, informal “pull-aside” on the sidelines of the summit, or that the US and Russian delegations hold “strategic stability talks”, which typically do not involve the presidents. The officials spoke anonymously to discuss private policy discussions.

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US President Trump seeks big meeting with Putin but more caution is needed, pundits say

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Many administration officials believe the US needs to maintain its distance from Russia at such a sensitive time – and interact only with great caution.

Many administration officials believe the US needs to maintain its distance from Russia at such a sensitive time – and interact only with great caution.