As President Trump continues to lobby for Russia to rejoin the G7, blames President Obama for allowing Vladimir Putin to invade Ukraine and annex Crimea, and reportedly is pushing to meet with Putin, possibly at the White House, Secretary of Defense James Mattis is taking a completely different stance.
During a graduation speech at the US Naval War College in Rhode Island on Friday, Mattis shared strong thoughts about Putin and the Russian president's desire to destroy NATO.
CNN:
"He aims to diminish the appeal of the western democratic model and attempts to undermine America's moral authority, his actions are designed not to challenge our arms at this point but to undercut and compromise our belief in our ideals," Mattis said ...
Mattis also alluded to Moscow's military actions in Crimea and eastern Ukraine, saying Russia has "proven willing to use conventional and irregular power in violation of international norms."
"For the first time since World War II, Russia has been the nation that has redrawn international borders by force in Georgia and Ukraine while pursuing veto authority over their neighbors' diplomatic, economic and security decisions," he added.
But The Washington Post reports President Trump is more interested in getting together with Putin than considering the reasons why it might be a bad idea or listening to experts on the matter.
The president’s interest in a meeting with Putin became public in March after the Kremlin disclosed that Trump extended an invitation in a phone call with the Russian leader. But U.S. officials say Trump privately has been asking his aides for a bilateral meeting ever since he met with Putin in Vietnam in November on the sidelines of a multilateral economic summit.
“After that meeting, the president said he wanted to invite Putin to the White House,” one U.S. official said. “We ignored it.”
At the time, top aides in the National Security Council opposed the idea of a meeting and said they didn’t view Trump’s interest in a summit as an order to set one up. “They decided: Let’s wait and see if he raises it again,” said the official, who like others spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive issue.
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On Thursday, a senior White House official in charge of Europe, Richard Hooker, told the Russian news agency Tass that the White House was exploring the idea of a meeting in Austria, which boasts close ties with Washington and Moscow.
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Senior officials at the State Department have acknowledged that a meeting between the two leaders could, in theory, help resolve long-standing differences on Ukraine, Syria, cybersecurity issues and interference in foreign elections. But some of those officials have said a summit between the two leaders is premature given the lack of progress on resolving minor issues, such as the return of Russian dachas on the East Coast, which were seized as punishment for Moscow’s interference in the election.
John Herbst, a Russia expert at the Atlantic Council, said the internal tension over the summit follows a pattern of clashes between Trump and his aides on Russia.
“He has chosen advisers who are all hawkish on Russia,” he said. “Meanwhile, he’s trying to pursue a policy with Russia that is disadvantageous in the current political environment. This has played out consistently since he took power.”
Mattis slams Russia, says Putin 'attempts to undermine America's moral authority' (CNN)
After forging new ties with North Korea, Trump administration turns to Russia (WaPo)