Putin and Trump agree to try to rebuild U.S.-Russia ties, cooperate in Syria

[rooster59]

Putin and Trump agree to try to rebuild U.S.-Russia ties, cooperate in Syria

By Andrew Osborn and Alexander Winning

 

U.S. President Donald Trump speaks by phone with Russia's President Vladimir Putin in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, U.S. January 28, 2017. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst

 

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump agreed to try to rebuild U.S. Russia ties and to cooperate in Syria, the Kremlin said on Saturday, after the two men spoke for the first time since Trump's inauguration.

U.S.-Russia relations hit a post-Cold War low under the Barack Obama administration and Trump has made clear he wants a rapprochement with Moscow if he can get along with Putin, who says he is also keen to mend ties.

"Both sides demonstrated a mood for active, joint work on stabilising and developing Russian-American cooperation," the Kremlin said in a statement, adding that Putin and Trump had agreed to work on setting up their first meeting.

"The chat took place in a positive and business-like tone."

Trump's stance on Russia has been under intense scrutiny from critics who say he was elected with help from Russian intelligence agencies, a charge he denies. His detractors have also accused him of being too eager to make an ally of Putin.

For Putin, who faces possible re-election next year, an easing of U.S. sanctions imposed on Moscow over its role in the Ukraine crisis would be a major coup.

But the Kremlin made no mention of the subject being discussed, referring only to the two underlining the importance of restoring mutually-beneficial trade and economic ties.

Trump said on Friday he was only in the early stages of considering whether to lift the sanctions, as British Prime Minister Theresa May, other foreign officials and U.S. lawmakers cautioned that such a move would be premature.

The most tangible outcome of the phone call, as the Kremlin described it, appeared to be what it said was an understanding that jointly fighting international terrorism was a priority and that the two nations should cooperate in Syria.

UKRAINE, IRAN, KOREA

"The presidents spoke in favour of setting up genuine coordination between Russian and American actions with the aim of destroying Islamic State and other terrorist groups in Syria," the Kremlin said.

That could signal a major policy change as, for now, cooperation is largely limited to coordinating to ensure that the two countries' air forces operate safely and that the risk of accidental confrontation or collision is minimised.

Moscow is one of Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad's allies, while Washington, under Obama, called for him to step down and backed rebel groups fighting to topple him.

The Kremlin said Trump and Putin had agreed to establish "partner-like cooperation" when it came to other global issues such as Ukraine, Iran's nuclear programme, tensions on the Korean peninsula and the Israeli-Arab conflict.

They had also agreed to stay in regular contact and had both said they wanted each other's nation to flourish, the Kremlin said.

"He (Putin) reminded (Trump) that our country has supported America for more than two centuries, was its ally in two world wars and now views the United States as its most important partner in the fight against international terrorism," the Kremlin said.

Since Russia annexed Ukraine's Crimea in 2014, Kremlin-backed media have spent much of their time criticising the United States and accusing it of trying to undermine Moscow. Since Trump's election, it has backed away from that line .

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2017-01-29

[Ireland32]

Putiny's Bitch...

[Pimay1]

Sounds like a good cautious reset between the two countries which is needed.

[Becker]

Sounds like the man-child called to thank his benefactor. Russia blatantly interfered with the US elections (that's very close to a declaration of war) and Trump and his supporters chose to ignore this. Forum rules prevent me from describing how despicable this is. Suffice to say it's the opposite of patriotism.

Imagine the uproar from these guys if HRC had done what the man-child has done!

[JHolmesJr]

i think mr putin is in for a blunt shock if he thinks he can play mr trump like a pawn on a chess board.

 

 

[ukrules]

Normalising the relations between two countries is a good thing after years of deliberate antagonisation and decay.

[Andaman Al]

So now we have Republicans on here supporting and advocating a 'close' relationship with Russia. Your forefathers (in fact Fathers) would be turning in their graves, to hear you playing as apologist for this narcissist mad conman. The length to which people will whore themselves seems to know no limits. Listen to what you are saying and remember it when Putin shafts the US up the behind. The Bush era laid down the foundations for your grandchildren to be paying the debt owed by the US for 50 years and the Trump era will leave your grandchildren ashamed of you. What exactly is going to make 'America Great Again'?

[dunroaming]

6 hours ago, ukrules said:

Normalising the relations between two countries is a good thing after years of deliberate antagonisation and decay.

Quite right! When do you think that the USA and Russia will have leaders who are capable of that? Because these two are completely incapable of achieving that.

[Trouble]

Geez people, it's a phone call.  Everyone is already jumping to conclusions that Trump and Putin are jumping in bed together.  No one likes the fact that Russia under Putin took over the Crimea, but everyone should also know that the history of the area is a convoluted one since Russia gained control after the Ottomans in the late 1700's.  The Ukraine itself is a ethnically diverse country with all sorts of divisions and has had trouble since the early 1990's.  It is far more complicated than just saying Putin took over the Crimea and annexed it. With that being said one can understand that Russia feels threatened as all of their former republics have turned toward the West and Russian might just be concerned particularly with the fact that the West has been so eager to allow them to enter the European Union and NATO.  One might think that if there had been more of a balance on the part of these former Eastern European block countries to work with both sides and maintain some neutrality then Putin would not have any desire to recreate the Russian Empire.  Let's just take this a step at a time and see where open discussions might lead.  If Putin cooperates in the war against ISIS then great. The Obama Administration was wrong on this Syrian war to begin with, being all to eager to topple Assad, arming every rebel group that put their hands out. 

[ukrules]

1 hour ago, dunroaming said:

Quite right! When do you think that the USA and Russia will have leaders who are capable of that? Because these two are completely incapable of achieving that.

 

You don't know that because nobody knows that so it's pure speculation on your part.

 

So I will also speculate that I suspect things will greatly improve between the two countries in the next year or so.

 

[dunroaming]

44 minutes ago, ukrules said:

 

You don't know that because nobody knows that so it's pure speculation on your part.

 

So I will also speculate that I suspect things will greatly improve between the two countries in the next year or so.

 

That will do me.  Let's both speculate and see.

[tonbridgebrit]

I'm not a fan of Trump, but Trump's Syria policy is far better than Obama's.

Under Obama, Washington backed various rebel groups to try and remove Assad. With Trump, I think all this will stop.

The Obama government was in a crazy and mad situation, hating ISIS, but also hating Assad. Bearing in mind that ISIS were trying to remove Assad. With Trump in charge, ISIS can now be defeated. And at last, there will be peace in Syria.

 

[tonbridgebrit]

1 hour ago, Trouble said:

  If Putin cooperates in the war against ISIS then great. The Obama Administration was wrong on this Syrian war to begin with, being all to eager to topple Assad, arming every rebel group that put their hands out. 

"If Putin cooperates in the war against ISIS then great"    ??????
We should bear in mind that ISIS has been fighting AGAINST Assad, ISIS are rebelling against Assad. Assad has been fighting against ISIS, and Assad has been supported by Putin. Hence, it's the Russians who have been fighting against ISIS.

The change now, is, is that Washington will take a stronger role in being with Putin, in order to remove ISIS.


"The Obama Administration was wrong on this Syrian war to begin with, being all to eager to topple Assad, arming every rebel group that put their hands out."   This, I totally agree with you. If Trump now works with Putin, and if Washington stops arming every rebel group that puts their hands out, then, the rebels against Assad will finish pretty soon.
Syria will then be at peace.

 

[Scott]

Off-topic post and reply removed.

[craigt3365]

6 hours ago, tonbridgebrit said:

I'm not a fan of Trump, but Trump's Syria policy is far better than Obama's.

Under Obama, Washington backed various rebel groups to try and remove Assad. With Trump, I think all this will stop.

The Obama government was in a crazy and mad situation, hating ISIS, but also hating Assad. Bearing in mind that ISIS were trying to remove Assad. With Trump in charge, ISIS can now be defeated. And at last, there will be peace in Syria.

 

Hindsight is 20/20, isn't it.  Trump would be crazy to continue policies that were started years ago when the situation was completely different.

 

There won't be peace in Syria until Assad is gone.  Too many Syrians have stated that. 

[craigt3365]

6 hours ago, tonbridgebrit said:

"If Putin cooperates in the war against ISIS then great"    ??????
We should bear in mind that ISIS has been fighting AGAINST Assad, ISIS are rebelling against Assad. Assad has been fighting against ISIS, and Assad has been supported by Putin. Hence, it's the Russians who have been fighting against ISIS.

The change now, is, is that Washington will take a stronger role in being with Putin, in order to remove ISIS.

 

Assad cultivated, worked with, and did business with ISIS before the civil war.  So in a way, you can say these troubles stated with his policies.

 

http://www.lrb.co.uk/v36/n07/peter-neumann/suspects-into-collaborators

Quote

In the years that preceded the uprising, Assad and his intelligence services took the view that jihad could be nurtured and manipulated to serve the Syrian government’s aims. It was then that foreign jihadists first entered the country and helped to build the structures and supply lines that are now being used to fight the government. To that extent Assad is fighting an enemy he helped to create.

 

http://www.businessinsider.com/isis-selling-oil-to-biggest-enemy-2015-11

Quote

ISIS is selling oil to Syria, the very country the militant group is trying to take over.

 

And we all know Putin didn't go after just IS, he mainly bombed innocent civilians.  Killing more of them than IS!

 

http://www.businessinsider.com/russia-isis-civilian-deaths-united-nations-syria-2016-8

Quote

Report: In less than a year, Russia has killed more civilians than ISIS

 

Nice try, though. LOL

[ResandePohm]

17 hours ago, JHolmesJr said:

i think mr putin is in for a blunt shock if he thinks he can play mr trump like a pawn on a chess board.

 

 

You forget that Putin has the videos that show how warped the Duck is. I am sure there are many more than just the golden showers. He will manipulate the Duck any way he wants.

[JHolmesJr]

3 hours ago, ResandePohm said:

You forget that Putin has the videos that show how warped the Duck is. I am sure there are many more than just the golden showers. He will manipulate the Duck any way he wants.

If someone had a pic of me and a willing young lass experiencing the golden showers, it wouldn't bother me. The Donald has weathered worse. Sexual congress is nothing to be ashamed of.

Edited January 30, 2017 by JHolmesJr

[Opl]

[Opl]

10 hours ago, ResandePohm said:

You forget that Putin has the videos that show how warped the Duck is. I am sure there are many more than just the golden showers. He will manipulate the Duck any way he wants.

 

Mystery death of ex-KGB chief linked to MI6 spy's dossier on Donald Trump

 

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/01/27/mystery-death-ex-kgb-chief-linked-mi6-spys-dossier-donald-trump/

Edited January 30, 2017 by Opl

[tonbridgebrit]

18 hours ago, craigt3365 said:

Hindsight is 20/20, isn't it.  Trump would be crazy to continue policies that were started years ago when the situation was completely different.

 

There won't be peace in Syria until Assad is gone.  Too many Syrians have stated that. 

"Trump would be crazy to continue policies that were started years ago when the situation was completely different."
Oh, so you reckon this ?  Okay, if Hillary was president now, do you think that Hillary would continue the policies that have been around for years ?  Please note, Hillary was a senior member of the Obama government, Hillary heavily influenced Washington's foreign policy,  and Obama was in charge for eight years. Do you reckon that Hillary would have continued the Obama policy ?  Or do you reckon that Hillary would be carrying out the Trump policy that Trump is doing right now ?

I reckon Hillary would be a continuation of the Obama policy in Syria.

"There won't be peace in Syria until Assad is gone."
How about this, once the rebels have lost their financial and other support, Assad (he's still being backed by Putin) will find it a lot easier to remove the rebels. Do you think that Assad will find it easier to remove the rebels once the rebels have lost support from their backers ?  Or do you reckon that it makes no difference whatsoever to the rebels if they lose or not lose their support ?  I reckon that Washington's support of the rebels was hugely important to the rebels, without Washington, the rebels are nothing. The rebels can carry on hating Assad, but they simply won't have the ability (the equipment, the ammunition) anymore once Washington stops it's support for them.

 

Edited January 30, 2017 by tonbridgebrit

[Credo]

1 hour ago, tonbridgebrit said:

"Trump would be crazy to continue policies that were started years ago when the situation was completely different."
Oh, so you reckon this ?  Okay, if Hillary was president now, do you think that Hillary would continue the policies that have been around for years ?  Please note, Hillary was a senior member of the Obama government, Hillary heavily influenced Washington's foreign policy,  and Obama was in charge for eight years. Do you reckon that Hillary would have continued the Obama policy ?  Or do you reckon that Hillary would be carrying out the Trump policy that Trump is doing right now ?

I reckon Hillary would be a continuation of the Obama policy in Syria.

"There won't be peace in Syria until Assad is gone."
How about this, once the rebels have lost their financial and other support, Assad (he's still being backed by Putin) will find it a lot easier to remove the rebels. Do you think that Assad will find it easier to remove the rebels once the rebels have lost support from their backers ?  Or do you reckon that it makes no difference whatsoever to the rebels if they lose or not lose their support ?  I reckon that Washington's support of the rebels was hugely important to the rebels, without Washington, the rebels are nothing. The rebels can carry on hating Assad, but they simply won't have the ability (the equipment, the ammunition) anymore once Washington stops it's support for them.

 

You seem to be under the impression that Washington is the biggest player here.   I think you will find that's not the case.   

[Jingthing]

I predict GREAT things for the love affair between trump and Putin ... 

 

Must read article --

http://www.nybooks.com/daily/2017/01/24/styrofoam-presidency-trump-aesthetics/

 

Quote

 

The Styrofoam Presidency

Sometimes vastly different processes yield surprisingly similar results. Trump is staging an assault on America’s senses that feels familiar to me—not because he admires Putin (though he does) or because he is Putin’s puppet, but because they seem to be genuinely kindred spirits. It might take a long time to understand why we have come to enter the age of a kakistocracy, but evidently we have.

 

 

[craigt3365]

4 hours ago, tonbridgebrit said:

"Trump would be crazy to continue policies that were started years ago when the situation was completely different."
Oh, so you reckon this ?  Okay, if Hillary was president now, do you think that Hillary would continue the policies that have been around for years ?  Please note, Hillary was a senior member of the Obama government, Hillary heavily influenced Washington's foreign policy,  and Obama was in charge for eight years. Do you reckon that Hillary would have continued the Obama policy ?  Or do you reckon that Hillary would be carrying out the Trump policy that Trump is doing right now ?

I reckon Hillary would be a continuation of the Obama policy in Syria.

"There won't be peace in Syria until Assad is gone."
How about this, once the rebels have lost their financial and other support, Assad (he's still being backed by Putin) will find it a lot easier to remove the rebels. Do you think that Assad will find it easier to remove the rebels once the rebels have lost support from their backers ?  Or do you reckon that it makes no difference whatsoever to the rebels if they lose or not lose their support ?  I reckon that Washington's support of the rebels was hugely important to the rebels, without Washington, the rebels are nothing. The rebels can carry on hating Assad, but they simply won't have the ability (the equipment, the ammunition) anymore once Washington stops it's support for them.

 

If you've kept up, the policies of the coalition have changed dramatically over the years.  As happens with all events like this that are complex and change rapidly.

 

As was pointed out above, financial support for the rebels AND those aligned with Assad get their funding from countries other than the US and the coalition.  The Gulf States are the biggest contributors.  But a huge margin.

 

You are aware it's a civil war.  A great portion of the population is against Assad.  Perhaps if Russia withdrew it's support the rebels would find it a lot easier to remove Assad and get this mess over with? LOL