Trump Emphasizes the Benefits of Good Relations with Russia

The President of the United States has emphasized on his Twitter account that having positive relations with Russia is a "good thing" and that Moscow can provide "great help" in resolving crises surrounding North Korea, Syria, Ukraine, and terrorism. Donald Trump is currently in Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam, during the last days of his two-week trip to Asia. On Sunday, November 12, he criticized "all haters and fools" who criticize his efforts to establish better relations with Russia and specifically with Vladimir Putin. Trump wrote: "When will all the haters and fools out there understand that having a good relationship with Russia is a good thing, not a bad thing?" The U.S. President added: "I want to solve the North Korea, Syria, Ukraine, and terrorism problems, and Russia can be a big help [in this regard]." In another tweet, Trump referred again to his electoral rival from the Democratic Party, Hillary Clinton, asking, "Do the fake news media remember" that during her tenure as Secretary of State, she "asked Russia to be our friend"? Trump added that Barack Obama also made similar "efforts" but that the appeal and attraction between him and Putin was "zero." In recent hours, on the sidelines of the APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation) summit in Vietnam, Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump had a brief meeting. Earlier, the U.S. President had suggested that he might meet with his Russian counterpart during the APEC summit. However, the White House later stated that due to scheduling, a specific and private meeting between the two had not been planned. Nevertheless, the brief meetings that took place between Trump and Putin have attracted media attention. On Saturday, prior to his new tweets, Trump stated that he believes his Russian counterpart's denial of Moscow's interference in last year's U.S. presidential election. Currently, allegations regarding Russian interference in last year's election are the focus of a wide-ranging investigation in the U.S. Trump stated, "Every time he sees me, he says he didn't do it, and I really believe that when he says this, he is telling the truth. I think this is very insulting to him, and it is not good for our country." On the other hand, these remarks have faced criticism in the U.S., including from Republican Senator John McCain, who stated in a statement referring to Trump's campaign slogan of "America First" that there is no "America First" in trusting a KGB colonel's word over U.S. intelligence agencies. Hours later, during a press conference with Nguyen Xuan Phuc, the President of Vietnam, Trump emphasized that he trusts U.S. security agencies and believes their assessments regarding Russian interference. Trump said he intended to point out that Putin was being honest in his denials of interference and did not mean to imply that he (Trump) necessarily trusts these statements or not. In addition to the U.S. election issue, the presidents of Russia and the U.S. announced a joint statement regarding Syria, stating that they agree on the "need to find a political solution." International efforts to end the ongoing civil war in Syria, now in its seventh consecutive year, have yet to yield results. However, negotiations are ongoing between the main supporters of Bashar al-Assad; Russia and Iran, as well as Turkey, which supports some of the opposition, leading to the establishment of "de-escalation zones." The United Nations is also working to bring the parties back to Geneva negotiations. Over 320,000 people have been killed in the Syrian civil war. Half of the country's population is displaced, and large areas of urban centers and infrastructure have been destroyed. On Sunday, Trump also tweeted about China, stating that Xi Jinping, the President of China, "has stated that he will add sanctions against [North Korea]. He said he wants them to disarm. Progress is being made." Trump also reacted to recent comments by Kim Jong-un, the President of North Korea, who referred to him as an "old lunatic": "Why does Kim Jong-un insult me by calling me old when I never call him short? Oh well! When I try so hard to be his friend, maybe one day that will happen." The long trip of the U.S. President to Asia for 13 days began with a flight from Hawaii to Japan. He then went to South Korea and China. After Vietnam, he will go to the Philippines. It was clear beforehand that two main topics would form the core of this trip: the crisis on the Korean Peninsula, North Korea's military and nuclear tests, and efforts to increase pressure on Pyongyang, as well as U.S. trade relations with Asian countries and multinational agreements between North and Southeast Asia and several other countries.