Trump's Assistant Denies Report of 'Upcoming Meeting with Putin in Iceland'

Shawn Spicer, a senior assistant to the elected President of the United States, described a report about a 'forthcoming meeting' between the 45th President of the United States and the President of Russia in Iceland as '100 percent fake'. The British newspaper 'Sunday Times' recently reported, citing British officials, that Donald Trump intends to meet with Vladimir Putin during his first foreign trip to Iceland after taking office as President of the United States. Spicer, who is set to serve as the White House press secretary in Mr. Trump's administration, tweeted in response to this report, 'This is not true. This report is 100 percent fake.' The Foreign Minister of Iceland, in response to a news website's inquiry regarding the 'Sunday Times' report, stated that his government is not aware of such a potential plan but expressed a willingness to play a role in reducing tensions between Washington and Moscow. According to Gudlaugur Thor, 'If officials in Washington submit a formal request to the Icelandic government for such a meeting, we would view it positively and include efforts to improve U.S.-Russia relations among our actions.' Historically, meetings between American and Russian leaders in Iceland have precedent, with Ronald Reagan, the U.S. President, and Mikhail Gorbachev, the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, having met in this country in October 1986. Although their discussions at that time did not yield results, the efforts culminated a year later in the signing of the 'Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty', which is considered an unprecedented document. However, the 'Sunday Times' report has faced multiple denials. In addition to Spicer's denial, another Trump assistant told Reuters that the report is 'fantasy'. Donald Trump will be sworn in as the 45th President of the United States on January 20. Recently, in an interview with the 'Wall Street Journal', Mr. Trump stated that Washington's sanctions against Russia will remain in place for a while, but if Moscow helps the U.S., there will be no reason to maintain the sanctions. U.S.-Russia relations during Donald Trump's presidency are among the most important topics currently attracting media and news agency attention. The relationship between Moscow and Washington during Barack Obama's presidency faced various tensions that have been described as unprecedented since the Cold War; these issues include the annexation of Crimea from Ukraine, accusations against Russia of supporting separatists in Ukraine, Moscow's strong objections to NATO's growth at its western borders, and ultimately the Syrian civil war. However, there have also been collaborations between the two countries, such as the nuclear agreement between Iran and six world powers, which Donald Trump is a staunch critic of.