U.S. Senator Paul delivers letter from Trump to Putin's government

[webfact]

U.S. Senator Paul delivers letter from Trump to Putin's government

By Doina Chiacu and Jeff Mason

 

U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin hold a joint news conference after their meeting in Helsinki, July 16, 2018. REUTERS/Grigory Dukor/Files

 

WASHINGTON/NEW YORK (Reuters) - Republican U.S. Senator Rand Paul said on Wednesday he delivered a letter from President Donald Trump to Russian President Vladimir Putin's government, but the senator and the White House offered different characterizations of the message.

 

Three weeks after Trump was widely condemned for not standing up to Putin at their Helsinki summit, Paul said the letter from Trump had offered U.S. cooperation in various areas. The White House called it a letter of introduction for Paul, who was visiting Moscow.

Trump has sought to ease tensions between the former Cold War foes despite friction in the relationship that was exacerbated by U.S. intelligence findings that Russia meddled in the 2016 presidential election, trying to tilt the outcome to Trump.

 

Paul, one of the few Republicans to defend Trump's widely panned performance at a July 16 news conference with Putin in Helsinki, said he had travelled to Moscow to encourage diplomacy.

 

"I was honoured to deliver a letter from President Trump to President Vladimir Putin’s administration. The letter emphasized the importance of further engagement in various areas including countering terrorism, enhancing legislative dialogue and resuming cultural exchanges," Paul wrote in a Twitter post.

 

The White House said the Republican president had provided Paul with a "letter of introduction" for his trip at the senator's request.

“In the letter, the president mentioned topics of interest that Senator Paul wanted to discuss with President Putin,” White House spokesman Hogan Gidley said in a statement.

 

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that a letter from Trump to Putin had been delivered by diplomatic channels, the Interfax news agency reported. But Peskov said the Kremlin had not familiarized itself with the contents.

 

The president has called an investigation into possible ties between his campaign and Moscow a "witch hunt," but his administration has warned that the threat of meddling from Russia endures.

 

Last week, Trump's national security team said Russia is behind "pervasive" attempts to interfere in the November midterm elections, rejecting denials that Putin made directly to Trump.

 

Trump sparked outrage by largely accepting Putin's word over that of his intelligence agencies at the Helsinki news conference.

The president later corrected some of his remarks, saying he misspoke.

 

Paul, a member of the party's conservative wing who frequently takes antiwar positions, on Monday invited Russian lawmakers to visit Washington to discuss nuclear nonproliferation and terrorism. He also held talks in Moscow with parliamentarians and pledged to block new sanctions against Russia.

 

Trump's efforts to improve ties with Russia have not yielded significant results. In addition to tensions over election meddling, the two countries are also at odds over Syria and Ukraine.

 

The relationship has also created divisions within the administration. Trump's top intelligence official, Dan Coats, has said that he is in the dark about what Trump discussed with Putin in their one-on-one meeting in Helsinki.

 

Further U.S. sanctions on Russia over alleged election meddling, Syria and Ukraine could lead to a deeper rift and are hurting Russia's rouble.

 

Paul's colleagues in the Senate from both parties introduced legislation last week to impose strict new sanctions on Russia. A reported text of the draft bill published on Wednesday sent Russia's rouble to lows against the dollar last seen in April.

 

(Additional reporting by Lisa Lambert; Editing by Mary Milliken and Jonathan Oatis)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2018-08-09

 

[mtls2005]

No need for Jared's "back-channel" I guess?

 

 

 

 

[nobodysfriend]

I think Trump once mentioned that he wants a ' low ' dollar to benefit the US exports ...?

Now the dollar is rising as is China's trade surplus ... he did not want this either ...?

I think he will need the additional income by the imposed taxes on chinese and european products to pay subventions to american farmers who don't sell internationally anymore and to prevent a lot of american exporting companies from going bankrupt .

I know that Trump and his politics are still supported by nearly half of the americans , but when I see what happens as a result of these politics , I doubt that it will end good .

[Tug]

It’s just an apology for the tepid sanctions he was forced to sign off on I’m sure he is begging forgiveness from his idol 

[klauskunkel]

4 hours ago, webfact said:

The letter emphasized the importance of further engagement in various areas

Please, Vlad, spank us some more...

[mtls2005]

This has gotten a bit curiouser as now the WH is saying that Randy Paul asked Trump to give him a letter of introduction to Putin.

 

Who knows what this lot is up to?

 

WH pushes back after Rand Paul suggests Trump asked him to deliver letter to Putin

 

The White House told Fox News that Paul asked Trump to write a letter of introduction to the Russian leader. While Trump obliged the senator and wrote the letter, the White House said the idea that Trump asked Paul to deliver the letter to Putin on Trump's behalf is not true.

 

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2018/08/08/wh-pushes-back-after-rand-paul-suggests-trump-asked-him-to-deliver-letter-to-putin.html

[Srikcir]

If Rand Paul really wants to help relations between the US and Russia, come back to the US with Snowden who was indicted for three criminal complaints. https://apps.washingtonpost.com/g/documents/world/us-vs-edward-j-snowden-criminal-complaint/496/

 

[sammieuk1]

To my dear Vlad a great friend a great great leader with a fabulous fabulous personnel  bank account I sincerely sincerely thank you for not Novichocking me at our recent meeting kind regards big orange?

[Redline]

4 hours ago, nobodysfriend said:

I think Trump once mentioned that he wants a ' low ' dollar to benefit the US exports ...?

Now the dollar is rising as is China's trade surplus ... he did not want this either ...?

I think he will need the additional income by the imposed taxes on chinese and european products to pay subventions to american farmers who don't sell internationally anymore and to prevent a lot of american exporting companies from going bankrupt .

I know that Trump and his politics are still supported by nearly half of the americans , but when I see what happens as a result of these politics , I doubt that it will end good .

It’s not half Americans.  It’s 80 percent of Republicans, which is around 30 percent.  Trumps does not control the money supply, nor would they let him.  Thereis no money to be made on tariffs 

[StreetCowboy]

Couldn’t he just post his time sheet?

[Silurian]

Mealy-mouthed Rand Paul strikes again. Give him time to decide to change his mind if the stars are misaligned. Rand Paul likes to take a hard stand, then change his mind (or adjust his opinion) and then try to look like the savior that he can never be. He talks tough and then at the end tows the line (reference the recently passed tax bill). Just another waste of space in the Senate and looking like a libertarian in name only.

 

The Failures of Rand Paul

 

Quote

Rand Paul has been considered Constitutional conservative and a non-interventionist. Both are admirable labels to have. However, over the last year, Senator Paul has failed at being either of these things.

...

If Rand Paul wants to back partisan agendas and throw his full support behind anything the White House does that’s his prerogative, but he should stop pretending to be a man of principals when he abandons them so willingly.

 

Edited August 9, 2018 by Silurian