The Kremlin said on Thursday that a possible meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump in Vietnam this week was still under discussion, but that nothing had yet been agreed.

Russian news agencies cited Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov earlier on Thursday as saying that the two leaders would meet on Friday at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Vietnam.

But Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told a conference call with reporters that the time, place and format of such a meeting was still being discussed and that a Friday meeting was only a possibility.

&quot;As for the content of the meeting, there is no agreed agenda,&quot; said Peskov.

Given that both Trump and Putin will attend the APEC summit, Peskov said that their paths would cross one way or another.

Russian news agencies cited Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov earlier on Thursday as saying that the two leaders would meet on Friday at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Vietnam.

The Kremlin said on Thursday that a possible meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump in Vietnam this week was still under discussion, but that nothing had yet been agreed. Russian news agencies cited Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov earlier on Thursday as saying that the two leaders would meet on Friday at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Vietnam. But Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told a conference call with reporters that the time, place and format of such a meeting was still being discussed and that a Friday meeting was only a possibility. "As for the content of the meeting, there is no agreed agenda," said Peskov. Given that both Trump and Putin will attend the APEC summit, Peskov said that their paths would cross one way or another.

Possible Putin-Trump meeting in Vietnam still under discussion: Kremlin

Facebook is banned in China but the country uses the social networking website outside of its borders, a New York Times report said Thursday, to spread &quot;state-produced propaganda&quot;.

The New York Times report said the Chinese government, through its state media agencies, spends hundreds of thousands of dollars each quarter to buy Facebook ads.&nbsp;

The report added that China is Facebook&#39;s biggest advertising market in Asia, even as the service remains proscribed within the country.&nbsp;

Foreign powers&#39; use of Facebook and other social media is in the spotlight in the US with President Donald Trump currently visiting China and with America currently investigating whether Russia had swayed the 2016 presidential election.&nbsp;

<a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/china-usa-can-solve-world-problems-together-trump-says-23813" target="_blank">Also read: China, USA can solve world problems together, Trump says</a>

<a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/trump-urges-china-russia-to-act-fast-on-north-korea-23791" target="_blank">Also read: Trump urges China &amp; Russia to act fast on North Korea, warns &#39;time is quickly running out&#39;</a>

Last week, the report said, executives from Facebook, Google and Twitter were grilled in Washington about Russia&#39;s use of technolgoy to sway voters during the 2016 presidential elections.&nbsp;

During the hearing, Facebook was asked if China too had used the social networking website to sway American voters.&nbsp;

Facebook&rsquo;s general counsel replied that, to his knowledge, it had not.&nbsp;

Facebook is just as keen on China as the New York Times report says the country is on the social networking site.&nbsp;

Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg has spent years courting Facebook.&nbsp;

The Times report said Facebook executives even set up a page to show CCTV, &quot;one of Beijing&rsquo;s chief propaganda outlets&quot;, how to use the platform during President Xi Jinping&rsquo;s 2015 trip to the United States.

The report said &quot;a look at the Facebook pages of China Central Television, the leading state-owned broadcast network better known as CCTV, and Xinhua, China&rsquo;s official news agency, reveals hundreds of English-language posts intended for an English-speaking audience&quot;.

The Times report said China&#39;s use of propaganda on Facebook and other social media is nowhere near as subtle as Russia&#39;s but that their &quot;techniques are nonetheless instructive&quot;.

It said that China does not post divisive advertisements on Facebook, but instead does what it does at home -- &quot;replicate the sort of news propaganda delivered at home: articles stressing China&rsquo;s stability and prosperity mixed with posts highlighting chaos and violence in the rest of the world&quot;.

&quot;A similar blend of stories &mdash; pandas and idyllic Chinese landscapes next to heavy coverage of the mass shooting in Texas &mdash; has proliferated across China&rsquo;s official Facebook channels in the lead-up to Mr. Trump&rsquo;s visit to Beijing, which began on Wednesday,&quot; the Times report said.

&quot;While much of it is unlikely to sway the average American&rsquo;s mind, such posts reach people across the world, many of whom are newer to the internet and may have a less sophisticated understanding of media. China&rsquo;s state media has Facebook channels dedicated to Africa and other regions of the world, and it seems evident that it is offering itself as an alternative to the Western media for a more global audience.&quot; the Times report added.

 
&nbsp;

China is Facebook's biggest advertising market in Asia, even as the service remains proscribed within the country

Facebook is banned in China but the country uses the social networking website outside of its borders, a New York Times report said Thursday, to spread "state-produced propaganda". The New York Times report said the Chinese government, through its state media agencies, spends hundreds of thousands of dollars each quarter to buy Facebook ads. The report added that China is Facebook's biggest advertising market in Asia, even as the service remains proscribed within the country. Foreign powers' use of Facebook and other social media is in the spotlight in the US with President Donald Trump currently visiting China and with America currently investigating whether Russia had swayed the 2016 presidential election. Also read: China, USA can solve world problems together, Trump says Also read: Trump urges China & Russia to act fast on North Korea, warns 'time is quickly running out' Last week, the report said, executives from Facebook, Google and Twitter were grilled in Washington about Russia's use of technolgoy to sway voters during the 2016 presidential elections. During the hearing, Facebook was asked if China too had used the social networking website to sway American voters. Facebook’s general counsel replied that, to his knowledge, it had not. Facebook is just as keen on China as the New York Times report says the country is on the social networking site. Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg has spent years courting Facebook. The Times report said Facebook executives even set up a page to show CCTV, "one of Beijing’s chief propaganda outlets", how to use the platform during President Xi Jinping’s 2015 trip to the United States. The report said "a look at the Facebook pages of China Central Television, the leading state-owned broadcast network better known as CCTV, and Xinhua, China’s official news agency, reveals hundreds of English-language posts intended for an English-speaking audience". The Times report said China's use of propaganda on Facebook and other social media is nowhere near as subtle as Russia's but that their "techniques are nonetheless instructive". It said that China does not post divisive advertisements on Facebook, but instead does what it does at home -- "replicate the sort of news propaganda delivered at home: articles stressing China’s stability and prosperity mixed with posts highlighting chaos and violence in the rest of the world". "A similar blend of stories — pandas and idyllic Chinese landscapes next to heavy coverage of the mass shooting in Texas — has proliferated across China’s official Facebook channels in the lead-up to Mr. Trump’s visit to Beijing, which began on Wednesday," the Times report said. "While much of it is unlikely to sway the average American’s mind, such posts reach people across the world, many of whom are newer to the internet and may have a less sophisticated understanding of media. China’s state media has Facebook channels dedicated to Africa and other regions of the world, and it seems evident that it is offering itself as an alternative to the Western media for a more global audience." the Times report added.

Facebook banned in China but it uses it elsewhere to spread 'state-produced propaganda': NYT

The EU pushed on Tuesday for Europe to draw up a blacklist of tax havens after the &quot;Paradise Papers&quot; revealed loopholes used by Apple and Nike as well as celebrities including Formula One champion Lewis Hamilton.

While seeking to minimise taxes is not necessarily illegal, revelations from the 13.4 million leaked documents have already proved embarrassing to figures as diverse as U2 singer Bono and Queen Elizabeth II.

Apple is the latest company to become caught up in the leaks, which show how the technology giant moved tens of billions of dollars from low-tax Ireland to Britain&#39;s Channel Islands when Dublin began tightening its laws in 2015.

But Apple said shifting the funds to the island of Jersey, which is largely exempt from EU tax regulations, did not save it any money.

The leaks, which shed further light on how the global elite manages its money after the Panama Papers and LuxLeaks scandal, were center-stage at Tuesday&#39;s meeting of EU finance ministers in Brussels.

The EU has struggled for more than a year to finalise a list of non-EU tax havens, with smaller, low-tax nations such as Ireland, Malta, and Luxembourg reluctant to scare companies away.

But EU Economic Affairs Commissioner Pierre Moscovici, who is leading the blacklist effort, said he wanted it in place by the end of the year.

&quot;It must be credible and up to the challenge,&quot; he said.

Sources said EU officials have warned about 60 countries that their tax policies may be at risk of blacklisting, demanding further information before November 18.

It is the latest international effort to clamp down on tax avoidance, increasingly seen as a moral issue, following a similar move by the OECD group of wealthy nations to compile a list of &quot;uncooperative tax havens&quot;.

Private jets, Russia ties&nbsp;

In Britain, the BBC and The Guardian reported that Hamilton avoided paying taxes on his private jet using an elaborate scheme now under investigation by tax authorities.

Documents showed that the driver received a &pound;3.3 million ($4.3 million, 3.7 million euros) tax refund in 2013 after his luxury plane was imported into the Isle of Man, a low-tax British dependency.

Hamilton&#39;s representatives could not be reached by AFP for comment.

Another report in French newspaper Le Monde said sportswear giant Nike used a Dutch loophole to reduce its tax rate in Europe to just two percent, compared with a 25 percent average for European companies.

Nike, which says it acted legally, managed to save taxes by using an offshore subsidiary, the report said.

Separately, the documents showed that US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross had a 31 percent stake in shipping firm Navigator Holdings, a partnership with Russian energy giant Sibur.

That company is partially owned by Vladimir Putin&#39;s son-in-law Kirill Shamalov and by Gennady Timchenko, the Russian president&#39;s friend and business partner who is subject to US sanctions.

The cabinet member&#39;s ties to Russian entities raise questions over potential conflicts of interest, and whether they undermine sanctions on Moscow over the war in Ukraine.

Ross has denied any wrongdoing, telling Bloomberg News he had already been planning to sell his stake, while Russian politicians stressed that the deals were legal.

&#39;Ticking time bomb&#39;&nbsp;

Irish singer Bono, meanwhile, an ardent anti-poverty campaigner, said he was &quot;distressed&quot; by documents showing he invested in a Lithuanian shopping centre which may have broken tax rules.

Earlier reports highlighted that about &pound;10 million of the private funds of Britain&#39;s Queen Elizabeth II was placed in the Cayman Islands and Bermuda.

Her estate emphasised that her investments were &quot;fully audited and legitimate&quot;.

Europe&#39;s antitrust chief Margrethe Vestager said the leaks served as additional evidence that the business world needed to be more open.

&quot;We cannot... rely on leaks or investigative work, we need more transparency,&quot; she told a meeting in Lisbon that brought together technology investors and entrepreneurs.

&quot;That&#39;s why we ask that every company reveal the totality of the information concerning its presence in every country,&quot; she added.&nbsp;

The Paradise Papers documents, which are mainly from the offshore law firm Appleby, have been shared with international media via the US-based International Consortium of Investigative Journalists.

Appleby has denounced the release as a &quot;serious criminal act&quot; and stressed that its &quot;overriding objective&quot; is to comply with regulations around the world.

The EU pushed on Tuesday for Europe to draw up a blacklist of tax havens after the 'Paradise Papers' revealed loopholes used by Apple and Nike as well as celebrities including Formula One champion Lewis Hamilton

The EU pushed on Tuesday for Europe to draw up a blacklist of tax havens after the "Paradise Papers" revealed loopholes used by Apple and Nike as well as celebrities including Formula One champion Lewis Hamilton. While seeking to minimise taxes is not necessarily illegal, revelations from the 13.4 million leaked documents have already proved embarrassing to figures as diverse as U2 singer Bono and Queen Elizabeth II. Apple is the latest company to become caught up in the leaks, which show how the technology giant moved tens of billions of dollars from low-tax Ireland to Britain's Channel Islands when Dublin began tightening its laws in 2015. But Apple said shifting the funds to the island of Jersey, which is largely exempt from EU tax regulations, did not save it any money. The leaks, which shed further light on how the global elite manages its money after the Panama Papers and LuxLeaks scandal, were center-stage at Tuesday's meeting of EU finance ministers in Brussels. The EU has struggled for more than a year to finalise a list of non-EU tax havens, with smaller, low-tax nations such as Ireland, Malta, and Luxembourg reluctant to scare companies away. But EU Economic Affairs Commissioner Pierre Moscovici, who is leading the blacklist effort, said he wanted it in place by the end of the year. "It must be credible and up to the challenge," he said. Sources said EU officials have warned about 60 countries that their tax policies may be at risk of blacklisting, demanding further information before November 18. It is the latest international effort to clamp down on tax avoidance, increasingly seen as a moral issue, following a similar move by the OECD group of wealthy nations to compile a list of "uncooperative tax havens". Private jets, Russia ties In Britain, the BBC and The Guardian reported that Hamilton avoided paying taxes on his private jet using an elaborate scheme now under investigation by tax authorities. Documents showed that the driver received a £3.3 million ($4.3 million, 3.7 million euros) tax refund in 2013 after his luxury plane was imported into the Isle of Man, a low-tax British dependency. Hamilton's representatives could not be reached by AFP for comment. Another report in French newspaper Le Monde said sportswear giant Nike used a Dutch loophole to reduce its tax rate in Europe to just two percent, compared with a 25 percent average for European companies. Nike, which says it acted legally, managed to save taxes by using an offshore subsidiary, the report said. Separately, the documents showed that US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross had a 31 percent stake in shipping firm Navigator Holdings, a partnership with Russian energy giant Sibur. That company is partially owned by Vladimir Putin's son-in-law Kirill Shamalov and by Gennady Timchenko, the Russian president's friend and business partner who is subject to US sanctions. The cabinet member's ties to Russian entities raise questions over potential conflicts of interest, and whether they undermine sanctions on Moscow over the war in Ukraine. Ross has denied any wrongdoing, telling Bloomberg News he had already been planning to sell his stake, while Russian politicians stressed that the deals were legal. 'Ticking time bomb' Irish singer Bono, meanwhile, an ardent anti-poverty campaigner, said he was "distressed" by documents showing he invested in a Lithuanian shopping centre which may have broken tax rules. Earlier reports highlighted that about £10 million of the private funds of Britain's Queen Elizabeth II was placed in the Cayman Islands and Bermuda. Her estate emphasised that her investments were "fully audited and legitimate". Europe's antitrust chief Margrethe Vestager said the leaks served as additional evidence that the business world needed to be more open. "We cannot... rely on leaks or investigative work, we need more transparency," she told a meeting in Lisbon that brought together technology investors and entrepreneurs. "That's why we ask that every company reveal the totality of the information concerning its presence in every country," she added. The Paradise Papers documents, which are mainly from the offshore law firm Appleby, have been shared with international media via the US-based International Consortium of Investigative Journalists. Appleby has denounced the release as a "serious criminal act" and stressed that its "overriding objective" is to comply with regulations around the world.

EU pushes for tax blacklist after Paradise Papers leak

US President Donald Trump would &quot;certainly be open&quot; to meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un, he said in an interview broadcast Sunday as he began an extended Asian tour.

Asked by journalist Sharyl Attkisson, host of the &quot;Full Measure&quot; TV show, whether he would ever consider sitting down with &quot;the dictator,&quot; Trump said he was holding meetings with numerous Asian leaders.

&quot;I would sit down with anybody,&quot; he said. &quot;I don&#39;t think it&#39;s strength or weakness, I think sitting down with people is not a bad thing.

&quot;So I would certainly be open to doing that but we&#39;ll see where it goes, I think we&#39;re far too early.&quot;

Trump&#39;s conciliatory-sounding comment came after months of fiery rhetorical exchanges between the two leaders, prompted by a series of internationally condemned nuclear and missile tests by the North.

The North has denounced Trump as a &quot;mentally deranged US dotard,&quot; or senile old man, and the country&#39;s ruling party newspaper Rodong Sinmun referred to him Sunday as &quot;instable.&quot;

Trump, for his part, has mocked Kim as &quot;Little Rocket Man&quot; and has vowed to rain &quot;fire and fury&quot; down on the North if it threatens the US or its allies.

Trump&#39;s latest comment appeared to be something of a reversal from a Twitter message he sent just over a month ago, in which he said that US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson was &quot;wasting his time&quot; trying to negotiate with the North Korean leader.

The war of words has been deeply unsettling for US allies in the region, including Japan, where Trump met Sunday with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, and South Korea, where he is to meet Tuesday with President Moon Jae-In.

Trump then travels to China on Wednesday, Vietnam on Friday and the Philippines on Sunday.

The interview was broadcast as a letter by the US Defense Department emerged that said the only way to locate and secure all of North Korea&#39;s nuclear weapons sites would be via ground invasion.

A spokesman for the Joint Chiefs of Staff confirmed to AFP that Rear Admiral Michael Dumont sent a letter to several members of Congress in response to a request for details about the plan for military action against North Korea.

Ted Lieu, a Democratic member of Congress whom the letter was addressed to, posted a copy of the two-page correspondence on his website.

&quot;The only way to &#39;locate and destroy -- with complete certainty -- all components of North Korea&#39;s nuclear weapons programs&#39; is through a ground invasion&quot; it said.

It added &quot;a classified briefing is the best venue for a detailed discussion&quot; of such a plan.

'I would sit down with anybody,' Trump said. 'I don't think it's strength or weakness, I think sitting down with people is not a bad thing'

US President Donald Trump would "certainly be open" to meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un, he said in an interview broadcast Sunday as he began an extended Asian tour. Asked by journalist Sharyl Attkisson, host of the "Full Measure" TV show, whether he would ever consider sitting down with "the dictator," Trump said he was holding meetings with numerous Asian leaders. "I would sit down with anybody," he said. "I don't think it's strength or weakness, I think sitting down with people is not a bad thing. "So I would certainly be open to doing that but we'll see where it goes, I think we're far too early." Trump's conciliatory-sounding comment came after months of fiery rhetorical exchanges between the two leaders, prompted by a series of internationally condemned nuclear and missile tests by the North. The North has denounced Trump as a "mentally deranged US dotard," or senile old man, and the country's ruling party newspaper Rodong Sinmun referred to him Sunday as "instable." Trump, for his part, has mocked Kim as "Little Rocket Man" and has vowed to rain "fire and fury" down on the North if it threatens the US or its allies. Trump's latest comment appeared to be something of a reversal from a Twitter message he sent just over a month ago, in which he said that US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson was "wasting his time" trying to negotiate with the North Korean leader. The war of words has been deeply unsettling for US allies in the region, including Japan, where Trump met Sunday with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, and South Korea, where he is to meet Tuesday with President Moon Jae-In. Trump then travels to China on Wednesday, Vietnam on Friday and the Philippines on Sunday. The interview was broadcast as a letter by the US Defense Department emerged that said the only way to locate and secure all of North Korea's nuclear weapons sites would be via ground invasion. A spokesman for the Joint Chiefs of Staff confirmed to AFP that Rear Admiral Michael Dumont sent a letter to several members of Congress in response to a request for details about the plan for military action against North Korea. Ted Lieu, a Democratic member of Congress whom the letter was addressed to, posted a copy of the two-page correspondence on his website. "The only way to 'locate and destroy -- with complete certainty -- all components of North Korea's nuclear weapons programs' is through a ground invasion" it said. It added "a classified briefing is the best venue for a detailed discussion" of such a plan.

In U-turn, Trump says he's 'open' to meeting Kim Jong-Un

US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross has business ties to a shipping firm linked to Vladimir Putin&#39;s inner circle, according to a vast leak of financial documents that also revealed Britain&#39;s Queen Elizabeth II&#39;s investments in tax havens.

It was also revealed that Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau&#39;s top fundraiser and senior advisor Stephen Bronfman, heir to the Seagram fortune, moved some $60 million to offshore tax havens with ex-senator Leo Kolber.

The findings have emerged as part of the Paradise Papers released by the US-based International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), which was behind the Panama Papers made public last year.

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false">
<div class="row">
<div class="article-blockquote">
<div class="col-sm-10 col-sm-offset-1 blockquote-content quoteshare">
<blockquote>
<h5>It was also revealed that Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau&#39;s top fundraiser and senior advisor Stephen Bronfman, heir to the Seagram fortune, moved some $60 million to offshore tax havens with ex-senator Leo Kolber</h5>
</blockquote>
</div>

<div class="col-sm-1 blockquote-content">
<div class="share-blockquote"><a class="twitter popup" href="http://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=It was also revealed that Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's top fundraiser and senior advisor Stephen Bronfman, heir to the Seagram fortune, moved some $60 million to offshore tax havens with ex-senator Leo Kolber" target="_blank">&nbsp;</a></div>
</div>
<a class="close-mark close-div" href="#" id="jqquoteclosemark">&times;</a></div>
</div>
</div>

There is no suggestion that Ross, Bronfman or the queen&#39;s private estate acted illegally.

But Ross&#39;s ties to Russian entities raise questions over potential conflicts of interest, and whether they undermine Washington&#39;s sanctions on Moscow.

The revelations about Bronfman could spell trouble for Trudeau, who was elected two years ago riding on the coattails of promises to reduce economic inequality and tax avoidance.

In the case of Queen Elizabeth&#39;s private estate, critics may question whether it is appropriate for the British head of state to invest in offshore tax havens.

Putin&#39;s son-in-law&nbsp;

Ross, a billionaire investor, holds a 31 percent stake in Navigator Holdings through a complex web of offshore investments detailed in the documents examined by nearly 100 news organizations as part of an international collaboration.

The 79-year-old reduced his stake when he took public office, according to public filings.

Navigator Holdings runs a lucrative partnership with Russian energy giant Sibur, which is partially owned by Putin&#39;s son-in-law Kirill Shamalov and Gennady Timchenko, the Russian president&#39;s friend and business partner who is subject to US sanctions.

The US imposed sanctions on Russian entities and individuals following its annexation of Crimea and aggression in Ukraine.

Ross&#39;s private equity firm has been the biggest shareholder in Navigator.&nbsp;

His personal share of the firm&#39;s stake was reduced when he took office in February, but the commerce chief&#39;s investment is still valued at between $2 million to $10 million, according to his security filings and government ethics disclosure.

The New York Times reported that Ross&#39;s stake in Navigator has been held by companies in the Cayman Islands. His wealth, estimated to exceed $2 billion, is said to be tied to similar arrangements in various tax havens like the Cayman Islands.

&quot;Secretary Ross was not involved with Navigator&#39;s decision to engage in business with Sibur, a publicly traded company, which was not under sanction at the time and is not currently,&quot; said James Rockas, a Commerce Department spokesman.

&quot;Moreover, Secretary Ross has never met the Sibur shareholders referenced in this story and, until now, did not know of their relationship.&quot;

&nbsp;Controversial businesses&nbsp;

The documents also show around &pound;10 million ($13 million) of the Queen&#39;s private money was placed in funds held in the Cayman Islands and Bermuda, first reported in Britain by the BBC and the Guardian newspaper.

They reported the funds reinvested the money in an array of businesses, including controversial rent-to-buy retailer BrightHouse, which has been accused of exploiting the poor, and a chain of alcohol stores that later went bankrupt.

A spokeswoman for the Duchy of Lancaster, which provides the monarch with an income and handles her investments, said: &quot;All of our investments are fully audited and legitimate.&quot;

&quot;We operate a number of investments and a few of these are with overseas funds,&quot; she added.

The spokeswoman added that one of the fund investments represents only 0.3 percent of the total value of the Duchy.

The Paradise Papers contain 13.4 million documents mainly from Appleby, an offshore law firm with offices in Bermuda and beyond.&nbsp;

The files were first obtained by the German newspaper Suddeutsche Zeitung, and shared with the ICIJ and partner media outlets. 
&nbsp;

The Paradise Papers have been released by the US-based International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, which was also behind last year's Panama Papers

US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross has business ties to a shipping firm linked to Vladimir Putin's inner circle, according to a vast leak of financial documents that also revealed Britain's Queen Elizabeth II's investments in tax havens. It was also revealed that Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's top fundraiser and senior advisor Stephen Bronfman, heir to the Seagram fortune, moved some $60 million to offshore tax havens with ex-senator Leo Kolber. The findings have emerged as part of the Paradise Papers released by the US-based International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), which was behind the Panama Papers made public last year. It was also revealed that Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's top fundraiser and senior advisor Stephen Bronfman, heir to the Seagram fortune, moved some $60 million to offshore tax havens with ex-senator Leo Kolber × There is no suggestion that Ross, Bronfman or the queen's private estate acted illegally. But Ross's ties to Russian entities raise questions over potential conflicts of interest, and whether they undermine Washington's sanctions on Moscow. The revelations about Bronfman could spell trouble for Trudeau, who was elected two years ago riding on the coattails of promises to reduce economic inequality and tax avoidance. In the case of Queen Elizabeth's private estate, critics may question whether it is appropriate for the British head of state to invest in offshore tax havens. Putin's son-in-law Ross, a billionaire investor, holds a 31 percent stake in Navigator Holdings through a complex web of offshore investments detailed in the documents examined by nearly 100 news organizations as part of an international collaboration. The 79-year-old reduced his stake when he took public office, according to public filings. Navigator Holdings runs a lucrative partnership with Russian energy giant Sibur, which is partially owned by Putin's son-in-law Kirill Shamalov and Gennady Timchenko, the Russian president's friend and business partner who is subject to US sanctions. The US imposed sanctions on Russian entities and individuals following its annexation of Crimea and aggression in Ukraine. Ross's private equity firm has been the biggest shareholder in Navigator. His personal share of the firm's stake was reduced when he took office in February, but the commerce chief's investment is still valued at between $2 million to $10 million, according to his security filings and government ethics disclosure. The New York Times reported that Ross's stake in Navigator has been held by companies in the Cayman Islands. His wealth, estimated to exceed $2 billion, is said to be tied to similar arrangements in various tax havens like the Cayman Islands. "Secretary Ross was not involved with Navigator's decision to engage in business with Sibur, a publicly traded company, which was not under sanction at the time and is not currently," said James Rockas, a Commerce Department spokesman. "Moreover, Secretary Ross has never met the Sibur shareholders referenced in this story and, until now, did not know of their relationship." Controversial businesses The documents also show around £10 million ($13 million) of the Queen's private money was placed in funds held in the Cayman Islands and Bermuda, first reported in Britain by the BBC and the Guardian newspaper. They reported the funds reinvested the money in an array of businesses, including controversial rent-to-buy retailer BrightHouse, which has been accused of exploiting the poor, and a chain of alcohol stores that later went bankrupt. A spokeswoman for the Duchy of Lancaster, which provides the monarch with an income and handles her investments, said: "All of our investments are fully audited and legitimate." "We operate a number of investments and a few of these are with overseas funds," she added. The spokeswoman added that one of the fund investments represents only 0.3 percent of the total value of the Duchy. The Paradise Papers contain 13.4 million documents mainly from Appleby, an offshore law firm with offices in Bermuda and beyond. The files were first obtained by the German newspaper Suddeutsche Zeitung, and shared with the ICIJ and partner media outlets.

Paradise Papers: US commerce secretary has ties to firm linked to Putin's inner circle

Last weekend was Vladimir Putin&#39;s 65th birthday. Now it&#39;s not germane to this piece whether he cut a cake, danced or made history by drinking vodka (Putin is a teetotaller). The news genre requires a peg to hang a story on and the reference to his birthday gives us the peg to take this forward, into the realm of India and Russia.

Recall the day India and China agreed to end the standoff on the Doklam Plateau in Bhutan. A day earlier, Russia&#39;s ambassador in Beijing Andrei Denisov said in public, that his country would not take sides in the standoff between India and China.

Denisov&#39;s comments appeared careful and calibrated. He said: &quot;The situation on the India-Chinese border is something we all regret. We think our Chinese and Indian friends can resolve the problem by themselves. We don&#39;t think they need any mediators who can influence their respective positions on the issue.&quot;

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false">
<div class="row">
<div class="article-blockquote">
<div class="col-sm-10 col-sm-offset-1 blockquote-content quoteshare">
<blockquote>
<h5>Russia is not in Beijing&#39;s pockets, at least not yet.</h5>
</blockquote>
</div>

<div class="col-sm-1 blockquote-content">
<div class="share-blockquote"><a class="twitter popup" href="http://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=Russia is not in Beijing's pockets, at least not yet. " target="_blank">&nbsp;</a></div>
</div>
<a class="close-mark close-div" href="#" id="jqquoteclosemark">&times;</a></div>
</div>
</div>

There may have been some disappointment in India over that studied enunciation of neutrality after all Delhi and Moscow go back a long way. But to be fair to Russia, it&#39;s unusual for any ambassador to be neutral about the country he is serving in. Ambassador Denisov&#39;s remarks are all the more interesting given the pressure he may have been under from his host government, to back them up on Doklam.

The credit here goes not to Denisov but Putin. That statement was interpreted correctly in Delhi&#39;s South Block and provided proof, if any was required, that Russia is not in Beijing&#39;s pockets, at least not yet. Russia watchers in India say Putin has always been bullish about this country, seeing a valued diplomatic and strategic partnership.

The Modi-Putin meeting in St Petersburg four months ago saw agreement on Russia building two more nuclear power reactors at Kudankulam in Tamil Nadu. At the Xiamen BRICS summit, Russia reportedly played a key role in facilitating the naming of terrorist groups in the final declaration.

The doomsayers may warn that the Delhi-Moscow bilateral is running out of steam but the ground reality doesn&#39;t convey that impression.

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false">
<div class="row">
<div class="article-blockquote">
<div class="col-sm-10 col-sm-offset-1 blockquote-content quoteshare">
<blockquote>
<h5>The doomsayers may warn that the Delhi-Moscow bilateral is running out of steam but the ground reality doesn&#39;t convey that impression.</h5>
</blockquote>
</div>

<div class="col-sm-1 blockquote-content">
<div class="share-blockquote"><a class="twitter popup" href="http://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=The doomsayers may warn that the Delhi-Moscow bilateral is running out of steam but the ground reality doesn't convey that impression." target="_blank">&nbsp;</a></div>
</div>
<a class="close-mark close-div" href="#" id="jqquoteclosemark">&times;</a></div>
</div>
</div>

India&#39;s indigenous nuclear submarine programme has developed in large part to technology and expertise from Russia; the Akula class attack submarine Chakra is another with one more on the way; earlier there was the Brahmos cruise missile project; plans to acquire the Russian S-400 ballistic missile defence system is moving forward. Russia is well aware that for India, these projects have one enemy in mind, China.

Indian diplomats who have served in Moscow say the problems may lie in the shape Russia&#39;s foreign policy is taking, perhaps due to organisational deficiencies. Putin&#39;s strategic vision seems to lack sufficient back up in terms of human and diplomatic resources, so somewhere down the line things go cold.

Increasingly, the tactical and short-term approach appears to be overtaking the long-term and strategic in Russian foreign policy. Perhaps there&#39;s a reason for this: Russia&#39;s re-emergence in the Arab world on the back of a very successful policy in Syria. This may have even influenced some in Moscow to believe they are now America&#39;s equal. Such thinking could be self-delusion and therefore dangerous.

Russia&#39;s policy in Afghanistan is also strange. There&#39;s every reason why Russia and the US can find common ground there. Both are concerned about radical Islam, drug trafficking and Pakistan&#39;s destabilising role. There&#39;s also no doubt that the US expenditure in men and money helps Russia and India. Yet we find the two superpowers on opposite sides with Russia rubbing shoulders with the Taliban and arming Pakistan. Again, it would seem, the short-term and tactical taking precedence over the strategic and long-term.

But international relations is always dynamic, with Putin in charge, there could be a course correction in time. At this point, it&#39;s not clear if Putin plans to stand for another term during elections early next year. At 65 he shows no signs of slowing down or incapacity.&nbsp;He should be good for another 10 years, good for India too.

Though tactical and short-term approach has marked Russia's foreign policy, President Putin is good for India's interest.

Last weekend was Vladimir Putin's 65th birthday. Now it's not germane to this piece whether he cut a cake, danced or made history by drinking vodka (Putin is a teetotaller). The news genre requires a peg to hang a story on and the reference to his birthday gives us the peg to take this forward, into the realm of India and Russia. Recall the day India and China agreed to end the standoff on the Doklam Plateau in Bhutan. A day earlier, Russia's ambassador in Beijing Andrei Denisov said in public, that his country would not take sides in the standoff between India and China. Denisov's comments appeared careful and calibrated. He said: "The situation on the India-Chinese border is something we all regret. We think our Chinese and Indian friends can resolve the problem by themselves. We don't think they need any mediators who can influence their respective positions on the issue." Russia is not in Beijing's pockets, at least not yet. × There may have been some disappointment in India over that studied enunciation of neutrality after all Delhi and Moscow go back a long way. But to be fair to Russia, it's unusual for any ambassador to be neutral about the country he is serving in. Ambassador Denisov's remarks are all the more interesting given the pressure he may have been under from his host government, to back them up on Doklam. The credit here goes not to Denisov but Putin. That statement was interpreted correctly in Delhi's South Block and provided proof, if any was required, that Russia is not in Beijing's pockets, at least not yet. Russia watchers in India say Putin has always been bullish about this country, seeing a valued diplomatic and strategic partnership. The Modi-Putin meeting in St Petersburg four months ago saw agreement on Russia building two more nuclear power reactors at Kudankulam in Tamil Nadu. At the Xiamen BRICS summit, Russia reportedly played a key role in facilitating the naming of terrorist groups in the final declaration. The doomsayers may warn that the Delhi-Moscow bilateral is running out of steam but the ground reality doesn't convey that impression. The doomsayers may warn that the Delhi-Moscow bilateral is running out of steam but the ground reality doesn't convey that impression. × India's indigenous nuclear submarine programme has developed in large part to technology and expertise from Russia; the Akula class attack submarine Chakra is another with one more on the way; earlier there was the Brahmos cruise missile project; plans to acquire the Russian S-400 ballistic missile defence system is moving forward. Russia is well aware that for India, these projects have one enemy in mind, China. Indian diplomats who have served in Moscow say the problems may lie in the shape Russia's foreign policy is taking, perhaps due to organisational deficiencies. Putin's strategic vision seems to lack sufficient back up in terms of human and diplomatic resources, so somewhere down the line things go cold. Increasingly, the tactical and short-term approach appears to be overtaking the long-term and strategic in Russian foreign policy. Perhaps there's a reason for this: Russia's re-emergence in the Arab world on the back of a very successful policy in Syria. This may have even influenced some in Moscow to believe they are now America's equal. Such thinking could be self-delusion and therefore dangerous. Russia's policy in Afghanistan is also strange. There's every reason why Russia and the US can find common ground there. Both are concerned about radical Islam, drug trafficking and Pakistan's destabilising role. There's also no doubt that the US expenditure in men and money helps Russia and India. Yet we find the two superpowers on opposite sides with Russia rubbing shoulders with the Taliban and arming Pakistan. Again, it would seem, the short-term and tactical taking precedence over the strategic and long-term. But international relations is always dynamic, with Putin in charge, there could be a course correction in time. At this point, it's not clear if Putin plans to stand for another term during elections early next year. At 65 he shows no signs of slowing down or incapacity. He should be good for another 10 years, good for India too.

With Putin in power, India-Russia relations will prosper

The United States said on Monday it was sharply scaling back its visa services in Russia after Moscow cut the number of its diplomatic staff in retaliation over new US sanctions.

The US embassy in Russia said in a statement it was suspending all nonimmigrant visa operations across Russia on Aug. 23 and that they would resume on Sept. 1 &quot;on a greatly reduced scale.&quot;

The move means Russian citizens wanting to visit the United States for tourism will have to travel to Moscow and will no longer be able to&nbsp;use local US consulates outside the Russian capital.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, reacting to new sanctions imposed by the US Congress, has ordered Washington to cut its diplomatic and technical staff in Russia by 755 people by Sept. 1.

Meanwhile, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Monday that a US decision to sharply scale back its visa services in Russia was an attempt to stir up ill-feeling among ordinary Russians against the authorities.

He added that Russia would carefully study the US decision and promised that Moscow would not take out its anger on ordinary US citizens.

US took the move after Moscow cut the number of its diplomatic staff in retaliation over new US sanctions

The United States said on Monday it was sharply scaling back its visa services in Russia after Moscow cut the number of its diplomatic staff in retaliation over new US sanctions. The US embassy in Russia said in a statement it was suspending all nonimmigrant visa operations across Russia on Aug. 23 and that they would resume on Sept. 1 "on a greatly reduced scale." The move means Russian citizens wanting to visit the United States for tourism will have to travel to Moscow and will no longer be able to use local US consulates outside the Russian capital. Russian President Vladimir Putin, reacting to new sanctions imposed by the US Congress, has ordered Washington to cut its diplomatic and technical staff in Russia by 755 people by Sept. 1. Meanwhile, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Monday that a US decision to sharply scale back its visa services in Russia was an attempt to stir up ill-feeling among ordinary Russians against the authorities. He added that Russia would carefully study the US decision and promised that Moscow would not take out its anger on ordinary US citizens.

US scales back visa services in Russia after diplomatic row

Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump&#39;s son-in-law and a senior White House adviser, said on Monday he &quot;did not collude&quot; with Russia and had roughly four meetings with Russian officials during the 2016 campaign and presidential transition, AFP reports.

In a written statement released ahead of his scheduled appearance before lawmakers in closed-door sessions, Kushner said his initial White House security clearance form had been submitted prematurely in error and had omitted all foreign contacts.

Filing misleading information in this form is a felony which carries&nbsp;a possible five-year jail sentence. Kushner&nbsp;originally claimed&nbsp;he had no&nbsp;foreign contacts before the election, and updated the forms, several times, to show he had over <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/Jared-Kushner-added-more-than-100-names-to-his-list-of-foreign-contacts-in-updated-security-clearance-forms/articleshow/59581180.cms">100 foreign contacts</a> from over 20 countries.

&quot;I did not collude, nor know of anyone else in the campaign who colluded, with any foreign government,&quot; Kushner said.&nbsp;&quot;I had no improper contacts. I have not relied on Russian funds to finance my business activities in the private sector,&quot; he said.

Trump&#39;s son Donald Trump Jr released emails this month, with a <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/07/11/us/politics/donald-trump-jr-email-text.html" target="_blank">subject heading</a> &#39;&#39;Re - Russia-Clinton--private and confidential&#39;,&nbsp;that showed Trump Jr appeared to welcome the prospect of damaging information from the Russian government about Clinton. Members of both committees say they are eager to hear about the June 2016 meeting involving Russian lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya. Kushner and former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort were also at the meeting.

Kushner faces two days of closed-door questioning from Congress as lawmakers try to determine whether Trump&#39;s campaign enlisted Russia&#39;s help to win the White House in last year&#39;s election.

Kushner is scheduled to address the Senate Intelligence Committee at 10 am&nbsp;on Monday and the House of Representatives Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence on Tuesday. Trump has been dogged by allegations that his campaign aides worked with Russia, which US.&nbsp;

Intelligence agencies have accused Russia of interfering in the election. Moscow has denied any interference, and Trump says his campaign did not collude with Moscow.&nbsp;The Republican president has said the Russia probes in Congress and the Justice Department are politically motivated.

In a tweet on Monday morning, Trump lashed out at the ongoing investigations.

&quot;So why aren&#39;t the Committees and investigators, and of course our beleaguered AG, looking into Crooked Hillary&#39;s crimes &amp; Russia relations?&quot; he added, referring to his former Democratic presidential rival, Hillary Clinton.

&nbsp;

Kushner described the secret meetings with Russians promising damaging information about Clinton&nbsp;as a waste of time. &quot;I actually emailed an assistant from the meeting after I had been there for ten or so minutes and wrote &#39;Can u pls call me on my cell? Need excuse to get out of meeting.&#39;&quot;

He said no part of the meeting he attended &quot;included anything about the campaign&quot; and he had no knowledge of any documents being offered or accepted. <a href="http://time.com/4858397/donald-trump-jr-meeting-russian-lobbyist/" target="_blank">Time </a>reports that during the meeting, Akmetshin and the Russian lawyer Veselnitskaya brought a plastic folder with printed-out documents that detailed what she believed was the flow of illicit funds to the Democratic National Committee.

As for nothing being discussed related to the campaign, Trump Jr and even President Trump have said this secret meeting&nbsp;discussed &quot;adoption&quot;, which refers to the Magnitsky Act. After Obama in 2012 put sanctions on Russian oligarchs accused of human rights violations, a law known as the Magnitsky Act, Putin responded by forbidding Americans from adopting Russian babies.

The Magnitsky Act is thought to be preventing the flow of hundreds of millions of dollars.&nbsp;The Trump administration&#39;s potential willingness to drop sanctions against Russia is at the heart of the alleged connection between US President Donald&nbsp;Trump and Russia. Investigations into this are ongoing.&nbsp;

The Senate Judiciary Committee is negotiating with Manafort and Trump Jr&nbsp;about testifying in a public hearing. &nbsp;The congressional committees, along with federal special counsel Robert Mueller, are examining Russia&#39;s influence in the US election and possible links to Trump&#39;s campaign.

&nbsp;

&#39;Secret back channel&#39;

Kushner will also face questions about reports he tried to set up a secret back channel to Moscow, as well as other contacts with top Russian officials and business leaders.

Kushner said he first met Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak in Washington in April 2016 and shook hands. He said he did not recall phone calls with Kislyak between April and November of that year as reported by Reuters in May, had found no evidence of the calls in phone records and was skeptical they took place.&nbsp;

In a meeting with Kislyak after the election, on December&nbsp;1, Kushner said he articulated a desire for the United States to make a fresh start with Russia.

&quot;The fact that I was asking about ways to start a dialogue after Election Day should, of course, be viewed as strong evidence that I was not aware of one that existed before Election Day,&quot; he said.

He said the Russian ambassador asked if there was a secure line in Trump&#39;s transition office to facilitate a discussion with Russian generals about Syria. There was not.&nbsp;

Kushner suggested arranging something through an existing communications channel at the Russian embassy, but Kislyak indicated that was not possible and they agreed to follow up after the inauguration.

&quot;Nothing else occurred. I did not suggest a &#39;secret back channel.&#39;&nbsp;I did not suggest an ongoing secret form of communication for then or for when the administration took office,&quot; Kushner said. &quot;I did not raise the possibility of using the embassy or any other Russian facility for any purpose other than this one possible conversation in the transition period. We did not discuss sanctions.&quot;

Kushner said he met on December 13 with Sergey Gorkov, the head of Russian state-owned Vnesheconombank, because Kislyak`s insistence and because he had a &quot;direct relationship&quot; with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Sanctions imposed by former President Barack Obama&#39;s administration were not discussed nor were Kushner`s business activities, Kushner said.

&quot;I did not know or have any contact with Mr Gorkov before that meeting, and I have had no reason to connect with him since,&quot; Kushner wrote.

Kushner did not initially disclose any meetings with Russians on forms he filed to get a government security clearance. He has since revised those forms several times.

He said the forms were initially submitted prematurely in error and omitted all foreign contacts he had had, not just those with Russian officials.

(With agency inputs)

 
&nbsp;

Kushner said his original White House security clearance form, which said he had 0 foreign contacts instead of over 100, had been submitted in error

Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump's son-in-law and a senior White House adviser, said on Monday he "did not collude" with Russia and had roughly four meetings with Russian officials during the 2016 campaign and presidential transition, AFP reports. In a written statement released ahead of his scheduled appearance before lawmakers in closed-door sessions, Kushner said his initial White House security clearance form had been submitted prematurely in error and had omitted all foreign contacts. Filing misleading information in this form is a felony which carries a possible five-year jail sentence. Kushner originally claimed he had no foreign contacts before the election, and updated the forms, several times, to show he had over 100 foreign contacts from over 20 countries. "I did not collude, nor know of anyone else in the campaign who colluded, with any foreign government," Kushner said. "I had no improper contacts. I have not relied on Russian funds to finance my business activities in the private sector," he said. Trump's son Donald Trump Jr released emails this month, with a subject heading ''Re - Russia-Clinton--private and confidential', that showed Trump Jr appeared to welcome the prospect of damaging information from the Russian government about Clinton. Members of both committees say they are eager to hear about the June 2016 meeting involving Russian lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya. Kushner and former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort were also at the meeting. Kushner faces two days of closed-door questioning from Congress as lawmakers try to determine whether Trump's campaign enlisted Russia's help to win the White House in last year's election. Kushner is scheduled to address the Senate Intelligence Committee at 10 am on Monday and the House of Representatives Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence on Tuesday. Trump has been dogged by allegations that his campaign aides worked with Russia, which US. Intelligence agencies have accused Russia of interfering in the election. Moscow has denied any interference, and Trump says his campaign did not collude with Moscow. The Republican president has said the Russia probes in Congress and the Justice Department are politically motivated. In a tweet on Monday morning, Trump lashed out at the ongoing investigations. "So why aren't the Committees and investigators, and of course our beleaguered AG, looking into Crooked Hillary's crimes & Russia relations?" he added, referring to his former Democratic presidential rival, Hillary Clinton. Kushner described the secret meetings with Russians promising damaging information about Clinton as a waste of time. "I actually emailed an assistant from the meeting after I had been there for ten or so minutes and wrote 'Can u pls call me on my cell? Need excuse to get out of meeting.'" He said no part of the meeting he attended "included anything about the campaign" and he had no knowledge of any documents being offered or accepted. Time reports that during the meeting, Akmetshin and the Russian lawyer Veselnitskaya brought a plastic folder with printed-out documents that detailed what she believed was the flow of illicit funds to the Democratic National Committee. As for nothing being discussed related to the campaign, Trump Jr and even President Trump have said this secret meeting discussed "adoption", which refers to the Magnitsky Act. After Obama in 2012 put sanctions on Russian oligarchs accused of human rights violations, a law known as the Magnitsky Act, Putin responded by forbidding Americans from adopting Russian babies. The Magnitsky Act is thought to be preventing the flow of hundreds of millions of dollars. The Trump administration's potential willingness to drop sanctions against Russia is at the heart of the alleged connection between US President Donald Trump and Russia. Investigations into this are ongoing. The Senate Judiciary Committee is negotiating with Manafort and Trump Jr about testifying in a public hearing. The congressional committees, along with federal special counsel Robert Mueller, are examining Russia's influence in the US election and possible links to Trump's campaign. 'Secret back channel' Kushner will also face questions about reports he tried to set up a secret back channel to Moscow, as well as other contacts with top Russian officials and business leaders. Kushner said he first met Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak in Washington in April 2016 and shook hands. He said he did not recall phone calls with Kislyak between April and November of that year as reported by Reuters in May, had found no evidence of the calls in phone records and was skeptical they took place. In a meeting with Kislyak after the election, on December 1, Kushner said he articulated a desire for the United States to make a fresh start with Russia. "The fact that I was asking about ways to start a dialogue after Election Day should, of course, be viewed as strong evidence that I was not aware of one that existed before Election Day," he said. He said the Russian ambassador asked if there was a secure line in Trump's transition office to facilitate a discussion with Russian generals about Syria. There was not. Kushner suggested arranging something through an existing communications channel at the Russian embassy, but Kislyak indicated that was not possible and they agreed to follow up after the inauguration. "Nothing else occurred. I did not suggest a 'secret back channel.' I did not suggest an ongoing secret form of communication for then or for when the administration took office," Kushner said. "I did not raise the possibility of using the embassy or any other Russian facility for any purpose other than this one possible conversation in the transition period. We did not discuss sanctions." Kushner said he met on December 13 with Sergey Gorkov, the head of Russian state-owned Vnesheconombank, because Kislyak`s insistence and because he had a "direct relationship" with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Sanctions imposed by former President Barack Obama's administration were not discussed nor were Kushner`s business activities, Kushner said. "I did not know or have any contact with Mr Gorkov before that meeting, and I have had no reason to connect with him since," Kushner wrote. Kushner did not initially disclose any meetings with Russians on forms he filed to get a government security clearance. He has since revised those forms several times. He said the forms were initially submitted prematurely in error and omitted all foreign contacts he had had, not just those with Russian officials. (With agency inputs)

Trump son-in-law Kushner denies collusion despite 'private, confidential' meeting with Russian officials ???????

Donald Trump made some comments to the<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/19/us/politics/trump-interview-sessions-russia.html?hp&amp;action=click&amp;pgtype=Homepage&amp;clickSource=story-heading&amp;module=first-column-region&amp;region=top-news&amp;WT.nav=top-news&amp;_r=0" target="_blank"> New York Times</a>&nbsp;in an interview that will make raise the eyebrows of&nbsp;Trump critics already suspicious of his connection to Russia.

He told the NYT that he would not have chosen Attorney General Jeff Sessions if he had known that Sessions would recuse himself from the Russia probe. Is this not tantamount to Trump admitting that the real purpose of his&nbsp;attorney general&nbsp;is to protect&nbsp;him&nbsp;from&nbsp;the Russia scandal?

Whatever else he thinks of Sessions&#39; job up to now apparently means nothing if Sessions&nbsp;cannot keep him insulated from the Russia investigation.

Sessions&#39; recusal allowed for the appointment of special investigator Robert S Mueller III. Sessions recused himself from anything to do with Trump-Russia after it became known that he had misled the public, denying under oath he met with any Russians during the election when in fact he had met twice with Russian Ambassador Sergei Kislyak.

Trump called Sessions&#39; recusal&nbsp;&quot;very unfair to the president&quot;.&nbsp;The President did not explain why the&nbsp;highest legal authority in the country deciding to recuse himself on investigations&nbsp;after possibly committing perjury related to them is unfair.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

Trump&#39;s finances &#39;beyond Russia probe&#39;

In the Times interview, asked if Mueller&#39;s investigation would cross a line if it investigated Trump&#39;s finances beyond the Russia probe, Trump responded &quot;I would say, yes.

&quot;I think that&#39;s a violation. Look, this is about Russia,&quot; Trump said. But that&#39;s just it: Trump is accused of being deeply connected to Russia, and the fact that it is impossible to tell&nbsp;where his personal finances end and his political connections to Russia&nbsp;begin is precisely&nbsp;what&#39;s being investigated.

It is impossible to investigate Trump&#39;s connnections to Russia without examining&nbsp;all his financial ties to Russia. Trump must know this.

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false">
<div class="twitter-block" draggable="false">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
His attacks on Mueller tell me a lot. He KNOWS how bad it is. His &quot;warning&quot; to Mueller tells me finally understands how bad it is.
&mdash; Rick Wilson (@TheRickWilson) <a href="https://twitter.com/TheRickWilson/status/887839303820353537">July 20, 2017</a></blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>
<a class="close-mark close-div" href="#" id="jqclosemark">&times;</a></div>

For example, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/kushner-firms-285-million-deutsche-bank-loan-came-just-before-election-day/2017/06/25/984f3acc-4f88-11e7-b064-828ba60fbb98_story.html?tid=ss_tw&amp;utm_term=.c4cf5e044286" target="_blank">Jared Kushner</a>, Trump&#39;s son in law and a White House adviser,&nbsp;failed to disclose on his security form that just before the 2016 election his company&nbsp;borrowed $285 million from Deutsche Bank to purchase a Manhattan building owned by Lev Leviev, a self-described&nbsp;&quot;true friend&quot; of Russian President Vladimir&nbsp;Putin.&nbsp;

Incidentally, Kushner denied having any foreign contacts on his security clearance form, a serious form necessary to get White House clearance. He has revised his form multiple times since new revelations were made public, and now the amount of foreign contacts has increased from 0 to over 100. Misrepresenting information on this form is a felony that risks five years of jail time.

Trump&nbsp;chose not to make&nbsp;his tax return&nbsp;public, the first presidential candidate not to take this basic step of transparency in about forty years. First Trump&nbsp;said he would disclose his tax return, then&nbsp;said he was prevented from doing so because he was under audit (it&#39;s true he was under audit, but false that he was prevented him from making them public), then flat out said he wouldn&#39;t.

On January 22 spokesman Kellyanne Conway said he would not release his taxes after all because &quot;<a href="http://www.esquire.com/news-politics/videos/a52466/donald-trump-tax-returns-timeline/" target="_blank">nobody cares</a>&quot;. This also is not true. Over 60 per cent of Americans want Trump to release his taxes publicly.

&nbsp;

Trump&#39;s base believes nothing the media says, even when a Trump says it&nbsp;

&quot;I don&#39;t think we&#39;re under investigation,&quot; Trump told the New York Times.&nbsp;He knows this is not true. &quot;I&#39;m not under investigation. For what? I didn&#39;t do anything wrong,&quot; Trump lied. &nbsp;He is under multiple investigations, including a criminal one&nbsp;for alleged obstruction of justice since firing James Comey, the former FBI Director who was investigating Trump&#39;s Russian connections.

It&#39;s impossible to be under multiple investigations&nbsp;and fire the person leading the most high-profile one without knowing&nbsp;you&#39;re under investigation.

But premeditated, repeated lying&nbsp;has benefited the Trumps. Repeated attacks on the media have had their intended effect: An enormous per cent of his base believes in the Trump&#39;s innocence despite what the media carries, even when&nbsp;the Trump&#39;s themselves admit their&nbsp;guilt.

According to a recent <a href="http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/342700-poll-nearly-half-of-trump-voters-dont-think-trump-jr-met-with-russian">poll</a>, almost one third&nbsp;of Trump voters&nbsp;do not believe Donald Trump Jr&nbsp;met with a &quot;Russian government lawyer&quot;, despite Trump Jr himself admitting he&nbsp;met&nbsp;with a &quot;Russian government lawyer.

He&nbsp;published emails that clearly showing&nbsp;the date of the meeting with the&nbsp;&quot;Russian government lawyer&quot;&nbsp;in Trump Tower. Nobody on either side denies the meeting took place. There is no reason to suppose it didn&#39;t.

Yet 32&nbsp;per cent of Trump voters said they do not believe the meeting took place, while 24&nbsp;per cent aren&#39;t sure.

An interview with Trump&nbsp;can be revealing, in a way, but&nbsp;investigators must&nbsp;go far beyond his words and search his financial records.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

&nbsp;

&nbsp;

The comments come in a wide-ranging New York Times interview

Donald Trump made some comments to the New York Times in an interview that will make raise the eyebrows of Trump critics already suspicious of his connection to Russia. He told the NYT that he would not have chosen Attorney General Jeff Sessions if he had known that Sessions would recuse himself from the Russia probe. Is this not tantamount to Trump admitting that the real purpose of his attorney general is to protect him from the Russia scandal? Whatever else he thinks of Sessions' job up to now apparently means nothing if Sessions cannot keep him insulated from the Russia investigation. Sessions' recusal allowed for the appointment of special investigator Robert S Mueller III. Sessions recused himself from anything to do with Trump-Russia after it became known that he had misled the public, denying under oath he met with any Russians during the election when in fact he had met twice with Russian Ambassador Sergei Kislyak. Trump called Sessions' recusal "very unfair to the president". The President did not explain why the highest legal authority in the country deciding to recuse himself on investigations after possibly committing perjury related to them is unfair. Trump's finances 'beyond Russia probe' In the Times interview, asked if Mueller's investigation would cross a line if it investigated Trump's finances beyond the Russia probe, Trump responded "I would say, yes. "I think that's a violation. Look, this is about Russia," Trump said. But that's just it: Trump is accused of being deeply connected to Russia, and the fact that it is impossible to tell where his personal finances end and his political connections to Russia begin is precisely what's being investigated. It is impossible to investigate Trump's connnections to Russia without examining all his financial ties to Russia. Trump must know this. His attacks on Mueller tell me a lot. He KNOWS how bad it is. His "warning" to Mueller tells me finally understands how bad it is. — Rick Wilson (@TheRickWilson) July 20, 2017 × For example, Jared Kushner, Trump's son in law and a White House adviser, failed to disclose on his security form that just before the 2016 election his company borrowed $285 million from Deutsche Bank to purchase a Manhattan building owned by Lev Leviev, a self-described "true friend" of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Incidentally, Kushner denied having any foreign contacts on his security clearance form, a serious form necessary to get White House clearance. He has revised his form multiple times since new revelations were made public, and now the amount of foreign contacts has increased from 0 to over 100. Misrepresenting information on this form is a felony that risks five years of jail time. Trump chose not to make his tax return public, the first presidential candidate not to take this basic step of transparency in about forty years. First Trump said he would disclose his tax return, then said he was prevented from doing so because he was under audit (it's true he was under audit, but false that he was prevented him from making them public), then flat out said he wouldn't. On January 22 spokesman Kellyanne Conway said he would not release his taxes after all because "nobody cares". This also is not true. Over 60 per cent of Americans want Trump to release his taxes publicly. Trump's base believes nothing the media says, even when a Trump says it "I don't think we're under investigation," Trump told the New York Times. He knows this is not true. "I'm not under investigation. For what? I didn't do anything wrong," Trump lied. He is under multiple investigations, including a criminal one for alleged obstruction of justice since firing James Comey, the former FBI Director who was investigating Trump's Russian connections. It's impossible to be under multiple investigations and fire the person leading the most high-profile one without knowing you're under investigation. But premeditated, repeated lying has benefited the Trumps. Repeated attacks on the media have had their intended effect: An enormous per cent of his base believes in the Trump's innocence despite what the media carries, even when the Trump's themselves admit their guilt. According to a recent poll, almost one third of Trump voters do not believe Donald Trump Jr met with a "Russian government lawyer", despite Trump Jr himself admitting he met with a "Russian government lawyer. He published emails that clearly showing the date of the meeting with the "Russian government lawyer" in Trump Tower. Nobody on either side denies the meeting took place. There is no reason to suppose it didn't. Yet 32 per cent of Trump voters said they do not believe the meeting took place, while 24 per cent aren't sure. An interview with Trump can be revealing, in a way, but investigators must go far beyond his words and search his financial records.

Trump: 'Sessions should never have recused himself", warns Mueller about investigating his finances

US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin held a second, previously undisclosed conversation during a dinner for G20 leaders at a summit earlier this month in Germany, a White House official confirmed on Tuesday.

The two leaders held a formal two-hour bilateral meeting on July 7 in which Trump later said Putin denied allegations that he directed efforts to meddle in the 2016 US presidential election.

The White House official did not say how long the second meeting took place or what was discussed.

The second conversation between Trump and Putin took place during a dinner for the Group of 20 heads of state and their spouses in Hamburg, said Ian Bremmer, the president of political risk consultancy Eurasia Group, who was first to report the meeting in a note to clients.

Television coverage of the dinner showed that first lady Melania Trump was seated next to Putin.

Bremmer said Trump got up from his seat halfway through dinner and spent about an hour talking &quot;privately and animatedly&quot; with Putin, &quot;joined only by Putin&#39;s own translator&quot;.

The lack of a US translator raised eyebrows among other leaders at the dinner, said Bremmer, who called it a &quot;breach of national security protocol&quot;.

Trump is under intense scrutiny by Congress and a special counsel investigating Russian interference into the 2016 presidential election, and probing whether Trump&#39;s campaign had ties to the activity. Trump has denied collusion between his campaign and Moscow. 
&nbsp;

Trump spent about an hour talking 'privately and animatedly' with Putin, 'joined only by Putin's own translator', which raised eyebrows

US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin held a second, previously undisclosed conversation during a dinner for G20 leaders at a summit earlier this month in Germany, a White House official confirmed on Tuesday. The two leaders held a formal two-hour bilateral meeting on July 7 in which Trump later said Putin denied allegations that he directed efforts to meddle in the 2016 US presidential election. The White House official did not say how long the second meeting took place or what was discussed. The second conversation between Trump and Putin took place during a dinner for the Group of 20 heads of state and their spouses in Hamburg, said Ian Bremmer, the president of political risk consultancy Eurasia Group, who was first to report the meeting in a note to clients. Television coverage of the dinner showed that first lady Melania Trump was seated next to Putin. Bremmer said Trump got up from his seat halfway through dinner and spent about an hour talking "privately and animatedly" with Putin, "joined only by Putin's own translator". The lack of a US translator raised eyebrows among other leaders at the dinner, said Bremmer, who called it a "breach of national security protocol". Trump is under intense scrutiny by Congress and a special counsel investigating Russian interference into the 2016 presidential election, and probing whether Trump's campaign had ties to the activity. Trump has denied collusion between his campaign and Moscow.

Trump, Putin held a second, undisclosed meeting at G20: White House

The Kremlin on Monday demanded that Washington unconditionally restore its access to diplomatic compounds in the United States, with a senior Russian official saying the row had &quot;almost&quot; been resolved following hours-long talks.

Russia is angry that Washington is still barring its diplomats from using two compounds in the states of New York and Maryland.

In December, then US president Barack Obama ordered the ban in response to Russian meddling in the US election. Multiple US intelligence agencies&nbsp;conclude that&nbsp;Russia interfered in the 2016 US election in order to help get Donald Trump elected president.

On December 29, 2016, President Obama said the compounds were &quot;used by Russian personnel for intelligence-related purposes,&quot; and Obama gave them 24 hours to vacate the premises.

&quot;We consider it absolutely unacceptable to place conditions on the return of diplomatic property, we consider that it must be returned without any conditions and talking,&quot; Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists.

When President Vladimir Putin and US counterpart Donald Trump met for the first time at the G20 summit in Hamburg this month, the Kremlin strongman raised the question of the diplomatic sites &quot;quite unambiguously,&quot; Peskov said. &quot;We still hope our American colleagues will show political wisdom and political will,&quot; he added.

In Hamburg US President Trump had said he intended to work with Russia on &quot;cybersecurity&quot;, which was met with criticism and even some shock, given that Russia conducted what The <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/13/us/politics/russia-hack-election-dnc.html?rref=collection%2Fnewseventcollection%2Frussian-election-hacking&amp;action=click&amp;contentCollection=politics&amp;region=rank&amp;module=package&amp;version=highlights&amp;contentPlacement=1&amp;pgtype=collection&amp;_r=0" target="_blank">New York Times</a> has called &quot;cyberespionage and information-warfare campaign devised to disrupt the 2016 election&quot;.&nbsp;

The row over the spy compounds was high on the agenda at talks in Washington on Monday between Thomas Shannon, the US State Department&#39;s number&nbsp;three, and Russia&#39;s deputy foreign minister Sergei Ryabkov. Those talks, which lasted three hours, had originally been scheduled for June, but Russia cancelled them at the time, citing new US sanctions linked to the conflict in Ukraine.

After the meeting Ryabkov, asked by journalists if the issue of the diplomatic compounds had been resolved, replied: &quot;Almost, almost&quot;. There was no word from the US side.

&nbsp;

&#39;Counter actions&#39;

At the time in December when&nbsp;Obama announced that he would&nbsp;shut&nbsp;down the compounds&nbsp;Moscow used for &quot;intelligence-related purposes,&quot;&nbsp;expelling&nbsp;35 Russian diplomats for spying, Putin held off from retaliating, saying he would wait to see how Trump reacted after he came into the White House.&nbsp;

But hope that Trump would follow up on campaign pledges to boost relations have fizzled as any ties to Moscow have become toxic for the White House amid a maelstrom of US investigations into possible collusion between Russia and the Trump campaign.&nbsp;

Now Russia has ratcheted up threats that it could belatedly take revenge by blocking a country house and a storage facility used by the US Embassy in Moscow.

&quot;If Washington decides not to solve this issue, we will have to take counter actions,&quot; Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said last week.

Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova complained last week that the US was also refusing to issue visas for Russian diplomats to replace those expelled.

&nbsp;

Russia was given 24 hours to vacate the compound, and 35 diplomats were expelled, because it was used for 'intelligence-gathering'

The Kremlin on Monday demanded that Washington unconditionally restore its access to diplomatic compounds in the United States, with a senior Russian official saying the row had "almost" been resolved following hours-long talks. Russia is angry that Washington is still barring its diplomats from using two compounds in the states of New York and Maryland. In December, then US president Barack Obama ordered the ban in response to Russian meddling in the US election. Multiple US intelligence agencies conclude that Russia interfered in the 2016 US election in order to help get Donald Trump elected president. On December 29, 2016, President Obama said the compounds were "used by Russian personnel for intelligence-related purposes," and Obama gave them 24 hours to vacate the premises. "We consider it absolutely unacceptable to place conditions on the return of diplomatic property, we consider that it must be returned without any conditions and talking," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists. When President Vladimir Putin and US counterpart Donald Trump met for the first time at the G20 summit in Hamburg this month, the Kremlin strongman raised the question of the diplomatic sites "quite unambiguously," Peskov said. "We still hope our American colleagues will show political wisdom and political will," he added. In Hamburg US President Trump had said he intended to work with Russia on "cybersecurity", which was met with criticism and even some shock, given that Russia conducted what The New York Times has called "cyberespionage and information-warfare campaign devised to disrupt the 2016 election". The row over the spy compounds was high on the agenda at talks in Washington on Monday between Thomas Shannon, the US State Department's number three, and Russia's deputy foreign minister Sergei Ryabkov. Those talks, which lasted three hours, had originally been scheduled for June, but Russia cancelled them at the time, citing new US sanctions linked to the conflict in Ukraine. After the meeting Ryabkov, asked by journalists if the issue of the diplomatic compounds had been resolved, replied: "Almost, almost". There was no word from the US side. 'Counter actions' At the time in December when Obama announced that he would shut down the compounds Moscow used for "intelligence-related purposes," expelling 35 Russian diplomats for spying, Putin held off from retaliating, saying he would wait to see how Trump reacted after he came into the White House. But hope that Trump would follow up on campaign pledges to boost relations have fizzled as any ties to Moscow have become toxic for the White House amid a maelstrom of US investigations into possible collusion between Russia and the Trump campaign. Now Russia has ratcheted up threats that it could belatedly take revenge by blocking a country house and a storage facility used by the US Embassy in Moscow. "If Washington decides not to solve this issue, we will have to take counter actions," Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said last week. Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova complained last week that the US was also refusing to issue visas for Russian diplomats to replace those expelled.

Russia says Trump 'almost' ready to hand over compound Obama withdrew for meddling in US election

US President Donald Trump&#39;s eldest son on Tuesday released emails showing he embraced Russia&#39;s efforts to support his father&#39;s presidential campaign, and admitting he would &quot;love&quot; to get dirt from Moscow on Hillary Clinton.

Donald Trump Jr was told by an interlocutor that he could get &quot;very high level and sensitive information&quot; that was &quot;part of Russia and its government&#39;s support for Mr. Trump.&quot;

Trump, 39, responded &quot;if it&#39;s what you say I love it&quot; and set up a meeting with the source, according to the emails.

The email chain, released in its entirety by Donald Jr on his Twitter account shortly before The New York Times published it, effectively confirms that he believed Moscow was behind the compromising information about Clinton that he hoped to receive at a meeting last year with a Kremlin-connected Russian lawyer.

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false">
<div class="twitter-block" draggable="false">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
Here&#39;s my statement and the full email chain <a href="https://t.co/x050r5n5LQ">pic.twitter.com/x050r5n5LQ</a>
&mdash; Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) <a href="https://twitter.com/DonaldJTrumpJr/status/884789418455953413">July 11, 2017</a></blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>
<a class="close-mark close-div" href="#" id="jqclosemark">&times;</a></div>

Donald Jr, however, added that he did not tell his father about meeting the meeting.

He told Fox News that he did not bother to brief his father on his encounter with Natalia Veselnitskaya as it had been a &quot;waste&quot; of time -- but wished he had handled things differently in hindsight.

Asked whether he had spoken to his father either before or after the meeting last June ion New York, he told the network&#39;s Hannity show: &quot;No. It was just a nothing. There was nothing to tell.&quot;

&quot;It was literally just a wasted 20 minutes, which was a shame,&quot; he added.

The disclosure places the president&#39;s son at the center of a burgeoning scandal involving multiple US investigations into whether Trump associates colluded with Russia last year in its covert efforts to tip the 2016 elections to the Republican billionaire.

Donald Jr had initially dismissed the meeting he arranged with the Russian lawyer, Natalia Veselnitskaya, as having to do with adoptions, but then offered shifting explanations as more details emerged.

In the emails released Tuesday, Rob Goldstone, a publicist close to the Trumps, tells Donald Jr that he has learned of a Russian offer of compromising material on Clinton from a pop singer he represented, Emin Agalorov.

&quot;The Crown Prosecutor of Russia met with his father Aras this morning and in their meeting offered to provide the Trump campaign with some official documents and information that would incriminate Hillary and her dealings with Russia and would be very useful to your father,&quot; Goldstone wrote in a June 3, 2016 email.

&quot;This is obviously very high level and sensitive information but is part of Russia and its government support for Mr. Trump - helped along by Aras and Emin,&quot; he added.

Donald Jr responded less than 20 minutes later, according to the chain of emails entitled &quot;Russia - Clinton - private and confidential.&quot;&nbsp;

&quot;Thanks Rob I appreciate that. I am on the road at the moment but perhaps I just speak to Emin first. Seems we have some time and if it&#39;s what you say I love it especially later in the summer.&quot;

In an interview with NBC News, Veselnitskaya said: &quot;It&#39;s possible that maybe they were looking for such information&quot; about the Clinton campaign.&nbsp;

&quot;They wanted it so badly,&quot; she added.

US intelligence agencies have concluded that Russian President Vladimir Putin approved a mass effort to tilt the election in Trump&#39;s favor, including hacking and leaking embarrassing emails from Democrats.

The New York Times reported that Paul Manafort and Jared Kushner, two of Trump&#39;s most trusted campaign officials, also attended the meeting with Veselnitskaya and Donald Jr last year.

The Kremlin has said it &quot;did not know who&quot; Veselnitskaya was.&nbsp;

&quot;We can&#39;t be aware of all the meetings Russian lawyers have abroad,&quot; said spokesman Dmitry Peskov.

Donald Trump Jr was told by an interlocutor that he could get 'very high level and sensitive information' that was 'part of Russia and its government's support for Mr Trump'

US President Donald Trump's eldest son on Tuesday released emails showing he embraced Russia's efforts to support his father's presidential campaign, and admitting he would "love" to get dirt from Moscow on Hillary Clinton. Donald Trump Jr was told by an interlocutor that he could get "very high level and sensitive information" that was "part of Russia and its government's support for Mr. Trump." Trump, 39, responded "if it's what you say I love it" and set up a meeting with the source, according to the emails. The email chain, released in its entirety by Donald Jr on his Twitter account shortly before The New York Times published it, effectively confirms that he believed Moscow was behind the compromising information about Clinton that he hoped to receive at a meeting last year with a Kremlin-connected Russian lawyer. Here's my statement and the full email chain pic.twitter.com/x050r5n5LQ — Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) July 11, 2017 × Donald Jr, however, added that he did not tell his father about meeting the meeting. He told Fox News that he did not bother to brief his father on his encounter with Natalia Veselnitskaya as it had been a "waste" of time -- but wished he had handled things differently in hindsight. Asked whether he had spoken to his father either before or after the meeting last June ion New York, he told the network's Hannity show: "No. It was just a nothing. There was nothing to tell." "It was literally just a wasted 20 minutes, which was a shame," he added. The disclosure places the president's son at the center of a burgeoning scandal involving multiple US investigations into whether Trump associates colluded with Russia last year in its covert efforts to tip the 2016 elections to the Republican billionaire. Donald Jr had initially dismissed the meeting he arranged with the Russian lawyer, Natalia Veselnitskaya, as having to do with adoptions, but then offered shifting explanations as more details emerged. In the emails released Tuesday, Rob Goldstone, a publicist close to the Trumps, tells Donald Jr that he has learned of a Russian offer of compromising material on Clinton from a pop singer he represented, Emin Agalorov. "The Crown Prosecutor of Russia met with his father Aras this morning and in their meeting offered to provide the Trump campaign with some official documents and information that would incriminate Hillary and her dealings with Russia and would be very useful to your father," Goldstone wrote in a June 3, 2016 email. "This is obviously very high level and sensitive information but is part of Russia and its government support for Mr. Trump - helped along by Aras and Emin," he added. Donald Jr responded less than 20 minutes later, according to the chain of emails entitled "Russia - Clinton - private and confidential." "Thanks Rob I appreciate that. I am on the road at the moment but perhaps I just speak to Emin first. Seems we have some time and if it's what you say I love it especially later in the summer." In an interview with NBC News, Veselnitskaya said: "It's possible that maybe they were looking for such information" about the Clinton campaign. "They wanted it so badly," she added. US intelligence agencies have concluded that Russian President Vladimir Putin approved a mass effort to tilt the election in Trump's favor, including hacking and leaking embarrassing emails from Democrats. The New York Times reported that Paul Manafort and Jared Kushner, two of Trump's most trusted campaign officials, also attended the meeting with Veselnitskaya and Donald Jr last year. The Kremlin has said it "did not know who" Veselnitskaya was. "We can't be aware of all the meetings Russian lawyers have abroad," said spokesman Dmitry Peskov.

Trump son said he would 'love' Russian dirt on Clinton: Emails

US President Donald Trump admitted that Russia may have interfered in the 2016 US election of which he was proclaimed the winner, but said that other countries may also have been involved, AFP reports.&nbsp;

&quot;I&#39;ve said it very simply. I think it could very well have been Russia. I think it could well have been other countries. I won&#39;t be specific. But I think a lot of people interfere,&quot; Trump said while in Warsaw.

On January 10, 2017, Trump&nbsp;told reporters, &quot;as far as hacking, I think it was Russia,&quot; reports the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/11/us/politics/trumps-press-conference-highlights-russia.html" target="_blank">New York Times</a>, marking the first time he agreed with multiple&nbsp;US intelligence agencies which&nbsp;conclude&nbsp;that Russia interfered in the election&nbsp;to help him, Trump, win.

But then moments later Trump&nbsp;compared US intelligence agencies to Nazis&nbsp;and dodged questions about whether he or anyone on his team had contact with Russia during the election. &quot;They said it totally never happened,&quot; Trump said of Russia denying their involvement in the hack.&nbsp;&quot;I respected the fact that he said that,&quot; Trump said of Russia&#39;s denial,&nbsp;adding, &quot;it could have been others also&quot;.&nbsp;

About the fact that there was an&nbsp;election breach, Trump has shown little outrage, then or since.

Another major NATO&nbsp;power&nbsp;<a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/angela-merkel-warns-of-possible-russian-interference-in-german-elections-8547" target="_blank">Germany</a>&nbsp;has since said they fear Russian interference in their election. Emmanuel Macron&#39;s campaign team has also blamed Russia for a &quot;<a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/05/05/macron-campaign-blasts-massive-hacking-attack-ahead-french-presidential/" target="_blank">massive hacking attack</a>&quot; days before the French election, that he eventually won.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

Election fraud or voter suppression?

Trump has launched an investigation into alleged voter fraud, in what he called without evidence a &quot;rigged&quot; election, in order to prove that Clinton, who won the popular vote by about 3 million votes, did not really&nbsp;win the popular vote.

Donald Trump lost the popular vote by more than any US president in American history.

President Trump&#39;s&nbsp;commission has sought to obtain the personal data of voters, including the &quot;name, address, date of birth, party affiliation, last four Social Security number digits and voting history back to 2006 of potentially every voter in the state&quot;, reports the <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/right-turn/wp/2017/06/30/voting-hypocrisy-on-the-right-rebellion-from-the-states/?utm_term=.7b2da12e367b" target="_blank">Washington Post.</a>

So far 44 states have refused. Virginia&#39;s judge issued a blunt denial, along with the reasoning behind it:

&quot;I have no intention of honouring this request. Virginia conducts fair, honest, and democratic elections, and there is no evidence of significant voter fraud in Virginia.

&quot;This entire commission is based on the specious and false notion that there was widespread voter fraud last November. At best this commission was set up as a pretext to validate Donald Trump&#39;s alternative election facts, and at worse is a tool to commit large-scale voter suppression.&quot;

&nbsp;

In January Trump had conceded 'as far as hacking, I think it was Russia', but then compared US intelligence agencies who agreed to Nazis

US President Donald Trump admitted that Russia may have interfered in the 2016 US election of which he was proclaimed the winner, but said that other countries may also have been involved, AFP reports. "I've said it very simply. I think it could very well have been Russia. I think it could well have been other countries. I won't be specific. But I think a lot of people interfere," Trump said while in Warsaw. On January 10, 2017, Trump told reporters, "as far as hacking, I think it was Russia," reports the New York Times, marking the first time he agreed with multiple US intelligence agencies which conclude that Russia interfered in the election to help him, Trump, win. But then moments later Trump compared US intelligence agencies to Nazis and dodged questions about whether he or anyone on his team had contact with Russia during the election. "They said it totally never happened," Trump said of Russia denying their involvement in the hack. "I respected the fact that he said that," Trump said of Russia's denial, adding, "it could have been others also". About the fact that there was an election breach, Trump has shown little outrage, then or since. Another major NATO power Germany has since said they fear Russian interference in their election. Emmanuel Macron's campaign team has also blamed Russia for a "massive hacking attack" days before the French election, that he eventually won. Election fraud or voter suppression? Trump has launched an investigation into alleged voter fraud, in what he called without evidence a "rigged" election, in order to prove that Clinton, who won the popular vote by about 3 million votes, did not really win the popular vote. Donald Trump lost the popular vote by more than any US president in American history. President Trump's commission has sought to obtain the personal data of voters, including the "name, address, date of birth, party affiliation, last four Social Security number digits and voting history back to 2006 of potentially every voter in the state", reports the Washington Post. So far 44 states have refused. Virginia's judge issued a blunt denial, along with the reasoning behind it: "I have no intention of honouring this request. Virginia conducts fair, honest, and democratic elections, and there is no evidence of significant voter fraud in Virginia. "This entire commission is based on the specious and false notion that there was widespread voter fraud last November. At best this commission was set up as a pretext to validate Donald Trump's alternative election facts, and at worse is a tool to commit large-scale voter suppression."

Russia 'could have' interfered with 2016 US election, says US President Trump

A decision to restore a memorial plaque to Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin at a state-run Moscow university has sparked outrage as another sign that officials are trying to whitewash his crimes, AFP reports.

The Moscow State Law University last month reinstated the Soviet-era plaque marking a speech delivered there by Stalin in 1924. It was removed in the 1960s.&nbsp;

More than 21,000 people have since signed an online petition on Change.org launched by a former student demanding it be taken down.&nbsp;

&quot;We are deeply concerned about the rehabilitation of the Stalinist regime in Russia in general and in this case in particular,&quot; the petition said. The decision saw a prominent rights lawyer and professors of another college break their ties with the university in protest.

But the Kremlin&#39;s human rights ombudsman Tatyana Moskalkova has argued that the plaque helps &quot;future lawyers remember how important it is not to slip into repression&quot;.

&quot;There is a similar plaque in the foreign ministry,&quot; she was quoted as saying by Russian news agencies.&nbsp;Officials at the State Law Academy did not comment when contacted by AFP.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

Repression?

This comes the same day as Russian investigators raided the Moscow election headquarters of Alexei Navalny, a prominent Kremlin critic, Reuters reports. Police also entered a warehouse, where activists claim the police confiscated pre-election pamphlets.

Russian investigators raided the Moscow election headquarters of Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny on Thursday and police entered a warehouse, where activists said they confiscated pre-election pamphlets.

Navalny says that he wants to run for the Russian presidency in next year&#39;s March election, but the Central Election Commission claims he is ineligible due to a conviction for embezzlement. Navalny maintains this was politically-motivated.

&nbsp;

Changing historical narrative

The furore comes as critics accuse the authorities under President Vladimir Putin of minimising Stalin&#39;s crimes. Officials have increasingly sought to focus on Stalin&#39;s role in winning World War II and downplaying the millions of people executed and sent to labour camps during his rule.&nbsp;

Stalin this month topped a Russian opinion poll as the greatest figure in its history, ahead of current Putin in second place.&nbsp;

Prominent Russian writers--from&nbsp;Varlam Shalamov, Andrei Sinyansky and most famously Nobel Prize winner Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn--were sent to labour camps by Stalin for their writing&nbsp;and they documented their horrors&nbsp;in a genre known as &quot;gulag literature&quot;, named after the acronym for the Russian name meaning Chief Administration of Corrective Labour Camps.

(With agency inputs)

Russian officials increasingly focus on Stalin's role in winning World War II and downplay the millions he executed and sent to labour camps

A decision to restore a memorial plaque to Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin at a state-run Moscow university has sparked outrage as another sign that officials are trying to whitewash his crimes, AFP reports. The Moscow State Law University last month reinstated the Soviet-era plaque marking a speech delivered there by Stalin in 1924. It was removed in the 1960s. More than 21,000 people have since signed an online petition on Change.org launched by a former student demanding it be taken down. "We are deeply concerned about the rehabilitation of the Stalinist regime in Russia in general and in this case in particular," the petition said. The decision saw a prominent rights lawyer and professors of another college break their ties with the university in protest. But the Kremlin's human rights ombudsman Tatyana Moskalkova has argued that the plaque helps "future lawyers remember how important it is not to slip into repression". "There is a similar plaque in the foreign ministry," she was quoted as saying by Russian news agencies. Officials at the State Law Academy did not comment when contacted by AFP. Repression? This comes the same day as Russian investigators raided the Moscow election headquarters of Alexei Navalny, a prominent Kremlin critic, Reuters reports. Police also entered a warehouse, where activists claim the police confiscated pre-election pamphlets. Russian investigators raided the Moscow election headquarters of Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny on Thursday and police entered a warehouse, where activists said they confiscated pre-election pamphlets. Navalny says that he wants to run for the Russian presidency in next year's March election, but the Central Election Commission claims he is ineligible due to a conviction for embezzlement. Navalny maintains this was politically-motivated. Changing historical narrative The furore comes as critics accuse the authorities under President Vladimir Putin of minimising Stalin's crimes. Officials have increasingly sought to focus on Stalin's role in winning World War II and downplaying the millions of people executed and sent to labour camps during his rule. Stalin this month topped a Russian opinion poll as the greatest figure in its history, ahead of current Putin in second place. Prominent Russian writers--from Varlam Shalamov, Andrei Sinyansky and most famously Nobel Prize winner Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn--were sent to labour camps by Stalin for their writing and they documented their horrors in a genre known as "gulag literature", named after the acronym for the Russian name meaning Chief Administration of Corrective Labour Camps. (With agency inputs)

Stalin plaque, returned today after 1960s removal, stirs outcry at Moscow university

Germany expects Russia to seek to influence its general election on September&nbsp;24, Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere said on Tuesday, adding that data stolen in a 2015 hack of the lower house of parliament could surface in the coming weeks, AFP reports.

Hans-Georg Maassen, Germany&#39;s domestic intelligence agency head, said at the same news conference that there were no indications Russia would back any particular party.

&quot;A large volume of data was taken during the 2015 Bundestag hack,&quot; de Maiziere said. &quot;We expect some of that information could emerge in coming weeks.&quot;

 
Other recent&nbsp;election hacks by Russia

US intelligence agencies agree that Russia deliberately interefered with the US election in order to help elect Donald Trump. Several investigations are underway, including a criminal one against Donald Trump, aiming to determine what exactly Russia did, and whether or not the&nbsp;Trump administration actively colluded with Russia.&nbsp;

Russia denies this charge. Trump has repeatedly called &quot;the whole Russia thing&quot; &quot;a hoax&quot;, and &quot;Fake News&quot;, but has also said &quot;regarding&nbsp;the hacking, I think it was Russia&quot;.

<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/wnXaZxqOXDE" width="560"></iframe>

Hackers with connections to the Russian government played a role in the effort to damage Emmanuel Macron&#39;s presidential campaign by leaking emails and documents in advance of the election, <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/us-france-election-russia-idUSKBN1852KO" target="_blank">Reuters </a>reported, citing two US intelligence officials.

Last week Ukraine&nbsp;blamed Russian security services for a cyber attacked that started in that country&nbsp;and spread around the world. Ukraine maintains that Russia&#39;s aim was to destroy important data and spread panic.&nbsp;Massen, the German domestic intelligence head , said his agency has no reliable evidence that it was carried out by Russia.

&nbsp;

&nbsp;

&nbsp;

There is a fear that data stolen in 2015 will resurface, though an intelligence head said there is no indication which party Russia would support

Germany expects Russia to seek to influence its general election on September 24, Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere said on Tuesday, adding that data stolen in a 2015 hack of the lower house of parliament could surface in the coming weeks, AFP reports. Hans-Georg Maassen, Germany's domestic intelligence agency head, said at the same news conference that there were no indications Russia would back any particular party. "A large volume of data was taken during the 2015 Bundestag hack," de Maiziere said. "We expect some of that information could emerge in coming weeks." Other recent election hacks by Russia US intelligence agencies agree that Russia deliberately interefered with the US election in order to help elect Donald Trump. Several investigations are underway, including a criminal one against Donald Trump, aiming to determine what exactly Russia did, and whether or not the Trump administration actively colluded with Russia. Russia denies this charge. Trump has repeatedly called "the whole Russia thing" "a hoax", and "Fake News", but has also said "regarding the hacking, I think it was Russia". Hackers with connections to the Russian government played a role in the effort to damage Emmanuel Macron's presidential campaign by leaking emails and documents in advance of the election, Reuters reported, citing two US intelligence officials. Last week Ukraine blamed Russian security services for a cyber attacked that started in that country and spread around the world. Ukraine maintains that Russia's aim was to destroy important data and spread panic. Massen, the German domestic intelligence head , said his agency has no reliable evidence that it was carried out by Russia.

Germany expects Russian effort to influence election: Interior minister

During his presidential campaign, Republican Donald Trump praised Russian President Vladimir Putin as a &quot;strong leader&quot; with whom he&rsquo;d like to reset tense US-Russian relations.

But as Trump heads to his first face-to-face meeting as president with Putin on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Germany on July 7-8, he is under pressure at home to take a tough line with the Kremlin.

Allegations of Russian meddling in last year&rsquo;s US&nbsp;elections have alarmed both Republican and Democratic lawmakers, who are pushing to extend tough sanctions placed on Russia following its 2014 annexation of Crimea, a peninsula belonging to Ukraine.

Lawmakers including Cory Gardner, a Republican senator from Colorado, are also concerned Russia has prolonged the civil war in Syria by backing its President Bashar al-Assad, a strongman whose forces have used chemical weapons against insurgents and civilians. The chaos has fueled instability in the region and a flood of migrants to Europe.

&quot;President (Trump) needs to make it clear that the continued aggression by Russia around the globe...is unacceptable, and that they will be held accountable,&quot; said Gardner, who was among six lawmakers invited by the White House last month to discuss foreign policy with Trump over dinner.

Meanwhile, the appointment of a special counsel who is investigating potential links between the Russian government and members of the Trump campaign has weakened the president&rsquo;s ability to maneuver with Russia, foreign policy experts say.

The US&nbsp;intelligence community has concluded Russia sponsored hacking of Democratic Party groups last year to benefit Trump over his Democrat challenger Hillary Clinton. Russia has denied those allegations while Trump has repeatedly dismissed the idea of any coordination between his campaign and Russia as a &quot;witch hunt&quot;.

Still, just the optics of Trump meeting with Putin, a former KGB agent, are fraught with risk, foreign policy experts say.

&quot;If (Trump) smiles, if he wraps his arm around Putin, if he says &#39;I&#39;m honoured to meet you, we&#39;re going to find a way forward,&#39; ... I think Congress is going to react extremely negatively to that,&quot; said Julie Smith, a former national security aide in the Obama administration.

&nbsp;

EVOLVING US&nbsp;POLICY

Trump has signaled an interest in cooperating with Russia to defeat Islamic State in Syria and to reduce nuclear stockpiles.

The White House has been mum on what Trump would be willing to give Russia in exchange for that help. But there has been speculation he could ratchet down sanctions, or even return two Russian diplomatic compounds in Maryland and Long Island.

President Barack Obama seized those facilities and expelled 35 Russian diplomats just before he left office as punishment for the election hacks.

While some administration officials, including Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, also support engagement, others, such as Vice President Mike Pence and US&nbsp;ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley, have taken a hawkish line on Russia.

The lack of a unified strategy has left US&nbsp;allies anxious. And it has lowered expectations for American leadership to help resolve crises in Syria and Ukraine, where Russian cooperation would be critical.

&quot;Trump is like a horse with his front legs tied,&quot; said a German diplomat, who spoke to Reuters on condition of anonymity. &quot;He can&rsquo;t make any big leaps forward on Russia. If he tried people would immediately suspect it was all part of some big conspiracy.&quot;

Trump&#39;s administration is still reviewing its Russia policy, a process that may not be wrapped up for a couple of months, a US&nbsp;official said.

Speaking with reporters last week about Trump&#39;s upcoming meeting with Putin, White House national security adviser HR&nbsp;McMaster said his boss would like &quot;the United States and the entire West to develop a more constructive relationship with Russia. But he&rsquo;s also made clear that we will do what is necessary to confront Russia&rsquo;s destabilising behavior.&quot;

&nbsp;

THIRD TRY AT A RESET

Trump is just the latest president to grapple with the complicated US-Russia dynamic. George W&nbsp;Bush and Obama sought to improve the US&nbsp;relationship with Russia early in their administrations only to see relations deteriorate later.

Among the concerns for this president is Trump&rsquo;s apparent lack of interest in policy details and his tendency to wing it with foreign leaders. McMaster told reporters that Trump has &quot;no specific agenda&quot; for his meeting with Putin and that topics would consist of &quot;whatever the president wants to talk about&quot;.

Michael McFaul, who was US&nbsp;ambassador to Russia under Obama, said he feared Trump might be headed to the meeting without clear objectives.

&ldquo;I hope that he would think about first: What is our objective in Ukraine? What is our objective in Syria? And secondarily, how do I go about achieving that in my meeting with Putin?&quot; McFaul said.

Other Washington veterans say Trump won&#39;t be able to make meaningful progress with Russia on anything until he confronts Putin about the suspected election meddling.

&quot;(Trump) really has to raise the Russian election hacking last year, and has to say something like, &#39;Vladimir, don&#39;t do this again. There will be consequences,&#39;&quot; said Steve Pifer, a long-time State Department official focused on US-Russia relations.

So far Trump has shown little inclination to do so, a situation that has heightened speculation about the potential impact from his coming encounter with the Russian leader.

&ldquo;The shadow of all these investigations hangs over this,&rdquo; said Angela Stent, a professor at Georgetown University and former National Intelligence Officer for Russia.

Among the concerns is Trump?s apparent lack of interest in policy details and his tendency to wing it with foreign leaders

During his presidential campaign, Republican Donald Trump praised Russian President Vladimir Putin as a "strong leader" with whom he’d like to reset tense US-Russian relations. But as Trump heads to his first face-to-face meeting as president with Putin on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Germany on July 7-8, he is under pressure at home to take a tough line with the Kremlin. Allegations of Russian meddling in last year’s US elections have alarmed both Republican and Democratic lawmakers, who are pushing to extend tough sanctions placed on Russia following its 2014 annexation of Crimea, a peninsula belonging to Ukraine. Lawmakers including Cory Gardner, a Republican senator from Colorado, are also concerned Russia has prolonged the civil war in Syria by backing its President Bashar al-Assad, a strongman whose forces have used chemical weapons against insurgents and civilians. The chaos has fueled instability in the region and a flood of migrants to Europe. "President (Trump) needs to make it clear that the continued aggression by Russia around the globe...is unacceptable, and that they will be held accountable," said Gardner, who was among six lawmakers invited by the White House last month to discuss foreign policy with Trump over dinner. Meanwhile, the appointment of a special counsel who is investigating potential links between the Russian government and members of the Trump campaign has weakened the president’s ability to maneuver with Russia, foreign policy experts say. The US intelligence community has concluded Russia sponsored hacking of Democratic Party groups last year to benefit Trump over his Democrat challenger Hillary Clinton. Russia has denied those allegations while Trump has repeatedly dismissed the idea of any coordination between his campaign and Russia as a "witch hunt". Still, just the optics of Trump meeting with Putin, a former KGB agent, are fraught with risk, foreign policy experts say. "If (Trump) smiles, if he wraps his arm around Putin, if he says 'I'm honoured to meet you, we're going to find a way forward,' ... I think Congress is going to react extremely negatively to that," said Julie Smith, a former national security aide in the Obama administration. EVOLVING US POLICY Trump has signaled an interest in cooperating with Russia to defeat Islamic State in Syria and to reduce nuclear stockpiles. The White House has been mum on what Trump would be willing to give Russia in exchange for that help. But there has been speculation he could ratchet down sanctions, or even return two Russian diplomatic compounds in Maryland and Long Island. President Barack Obama seized those facilities and expelled 35 Russian diplomats just before he left office as punishment for the election hacks. While some administration officials, including Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, also support engagement, others, such as Vice President Mike Pence and US ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley, have taken a hawkish line on Russia. The lack of a unified strategy has left US allies anxious. And it has lowered expectations for American leadership to help resolve crises in Syria and Ukraine, where Russian cooperation would be critical. "Trump is like a horse with his front legs tied," said a German diplomat, who spoke to Reuters on condition of anonymity. "He can’t make any big leaps forward on Russia. If he tried people would immediately suspect it was all part of some big conspiracy." Trump's administration is still reviewing its Russia policy, a process that may not be wrapped up for a couple of months, a US official said. Speaking with reporters last week about Trump's upcoming meeting with Putin, White House national security adviser HR McMaster said his boss would like "the United States and the entire West to develop a more constructive relationship with Russia. But he’s also made clear that we will do what is necessary to confront Russia’s destabilising behavior." THIRD TRY AT A RESET Trump is just the latest president to grapple with the complicated US-Russia dynamic. George W Bush and Obama sought to improve the US relationship with Russia early in their administrations only to see relations deteriorate later. Among the concerns for this president is Trump’s apparent lack of interest in policy details and his tendency to wing it with foreign leaders. McMaster told reporters that Trump has "no specific agenda" for his meeting with Putin and that topics would consist of "whatever the president wants to talk about". Michael McFaul, who was US ambassador to Russia under Obama, said he feared Trump might be headed to the meeting without clear objectives. “I hope that he would think about first: What is our objective in Ukraine? What is our objective in Syria? And secondarily, how do I go about achieving that in my meeting with Putin?" McFaul said. Other Washington veterans say Trump won't be able to make meaningful progress with Russia on anything until he confronts Putin about the suspected election meddling. "(Trump) really has to raise the Russian election hacking last year, and has to say something like, 'Vladimir, don't do this again. There will be consequences,'" said Steve Pifer, a long-time State Department official focused on US-Russia relations. So far Trump has shown little inclination to do so, a situation that has heightened speculation about the potential impact from his coming encounter with the Russian leader. “The shadow of all these investigations hangs over this,” said Angela Stent, a professor at Georgetown University and former National Intelligence Officer for Russia.

Hamstrung at home, Trump seeks closer ties with Russia at upcoming G20 meeting

The Watergate scandal pales in comparison to events in Washington surrounding US&nbsp;President Donald Trump and alleged links between his campaign and Russia, former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper said on Wednesday.

Clapper questioned Trump&#39;s continued pro-Russian stance, saying his sharing of intelligence with Russia &quot;reflect either ignorance or disrespect, and either is very problematic&quot;.

&quot;I think if you compare the two that Watergate pales, really, in my view, compared to what we&#39;re confronting now,&quot; Clapper told reporters in Canberra, Australia&#39;s capital.

The break-in at the Democratic National Committee headquarters in the Watergate Hotel in Washington in 1972, and subsequent cover-up, brought down former Republican US&nbsp;President Richard Nixon in 1974.

Clapper&rsquo;s appearance in Canberra comes before highly anticipated testimony by sacked FBI director James Comey before the Senate intelligence committee on Thursday.

The committee is examining whether Trump&rsquo;s campaign colluded with Russian officials to interfere in the US&nbsp;presidential election.

Trump in May removed Comey as director of FBI, despite a US&nbsp;Justice Department probe into contacts between presidential aides and Russia, raising the spectre of political interference in the investigation.

Trump has called the probe a &quot;witch hunt&quot; and said there was no collusion between his campaign and Russia.

Clapper said it was &quot;inexplicable&quot; that Trump continued his pro-Russia stance despite evidence Moscow sought to interfere in the 2016 US&nbsp;presidential election.

&quot;His subsequent actions, sharing sensitive intelligence with the Russians and compromising its source, reflect either ignorance or disrespect and either is very problematic,&quot; said Clapper.

Trump disclosed highly classified information about a planned Islamic State operation to Russia&#39;s foreign minister in an Oval Office meeting in May, two US&nbsp;officials have said.

(Reuters)

'I think if you compare the two that Watergate pales, really, in my view, compared to what we're confronting now'

The Watergate scandal pales in comparison to events in Washington surrounding US President Donald Trump and alleged links between his campaign and Russia, former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper said on Wednesday. Clapper questioned Trump's continued pro-Russian stance, saying his sharing of intelligence with Russia "reflect either ignorance or disrespect, and either is very problematic". "I think if you compare the two that Watergate pales, really, in my view, compared to what we're confronting now," Clapper told reporters in Canberra, Australia's capital. The break-in at the Democratic National Committee headquarters in the Watergate Hotel in Washington in 1972, and subsequent cover-up, brought down former Republican US President Richard Nixon in 1974. Clapper’s appearance in Canberra comes before highly anticipated testimony by sacked FBI director James Comey before the Senate intelligence committee on Thursday. The committee is examining whether Trump’s campaign colluded with Russian officials to interfere in the US presidential election. Trump in May removed Comey as director of FBI, despite a US Justice Department probe into contacts between presidential aides and Russia, raising the spectre of political interference in the investigation. Trump has called the probe a "witch hunt" and said there was no collusion between his campaign and Russia. Clapper said it was "inexplicable" that Trump continued his pro-Russia stance despite evidence Moscow sought to interfere in the 2016 US presidential election. "His subsequent actions, sharing sensitive intelligence with the Russians and compromising its source, reflect either ignorance or disrespect and either is very problematic," said Clapper. Trump disclosed highly classified information about a planned Islamic State operation to Russia's foreign minister in an Oval Office meeting in May, two US officials have said. (Reuters)

Watergate 'pales' compared with Trump-Russia: Former US intelligence head

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday (June 1) India was set to become a full-fledged member of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in a week&#39;s time.

Putin was speaking at a meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi who is visiting St Petersburg for an annual Russia-India.

&quot;I am very glad to have this opportunity to meet you and to talk on a whole spectrum of bilateral relations as well as international issues. As for our international cooperation, I would like to note just one thing. In a week we secure India&#39;s full fledged entry into the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.&quot;

Modi praised relations between the two countries, saying they were &quot;trust-based&quot;.

&quot;India and Russia have a friendship that goes so far back, are so deep and trust-based that in all issues of the international agenda India and Russia have always stayed together. Soon we will become a full member of the SCO (Shanghai Cooperation Organisation) thanks to your proactive role. I want to thank you once again for the support that you provided India to become the SCO full member.&quot;

Putin and Modi are scheduled to take part in the St Petersburg International Economic Forum on Friday (June 2). It will be Modi&#39;s first time taking part in the event as a guest of honour.

The leaders will meet again at the SCO summit on June 8-9 in Kazakhstan&#39;s capital Astana.

Last October, India and Russia signed billions of dollars of defence and energy deals at a summit in Goa that sought to inject new life into a relationship which has been tested by shifting global alliances and conflict in the Middle East.

Modi&#39;s current foreign trip, which included visits to Germany and Spain, aims to boost India&#39;s economic and defence engagement as well as attract additional investment to the country from some of the biggest economies in Europe. 
 
The SCO is a political, economic, and military bloc founded in 2001 in Shanghai by the leaders of China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan.&nbsp; 
 
(Reuters)

The SCO is a political, economic, and military bloc founded in 2001 in Shanghai by the leaders of China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday (June 1) India was set to become a full-fledged member of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in a week's time. Putin was speaking at a meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi who is visiting St Petersburg for an annual Russia-India. "I am very glad to have this opportunity to meet you and to talk on a whole spectrum of bilateral relations as well as international issues. As for our international cooperation, I would like to note just one thing. In a week we secure India's full fledged entry into the Shanghai Cooperation Organization." Modi praised relations between the two countries, saying they were "trust-based". "India and Russia have a friendship that goes so far back, are so deep and trust-based that in all issues of the international agenda India and Russia have always stayed together. Soon we will become a full member of the SCO (Shanghai Cooperation Organisation) thanks to your proactive role. I want to thank you once again for the support that you provided India to become the SCO full member." Putin and Modi are scheduled to take part in the St Petersburg International Economic Forum on Friday (June 2). It will be Modi's first time taking part in the event as a guest of honour. The leaders will meet again at the SCO summit on June 8-9 in Kazakhstan's capital Astana. Last October, India and Russia signed billions of dollars of defence and energy deals at a summit in Goa that sought to inject new life into a relationship which has been tested by shifting global alliances and conflict in the Middle East. Modi's current foreign trip, which included visits to Germany and Spain, aims to boost India's economic and defence engagement as well as attract additional investment to the country from some of the biggest economies in Europe. The SCO is a political, economic, and military bloc founded in 2001 in Shanghai by the leaders of China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. (Reuters)

India to formally become member of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation within a week: President Putin

Russian President Vladimir Putin played piano while awaiting Chinese leader Xi Jinping for bilateral talks in Beijing on Sunday.

Putin spoke earlier on Sunday at a summit on China&#39;s new Silk Road plan. He later arrived at state Diaoyutai residence for talks with Xi and other leaders.&nbsp;

While waiting for his bilateral with Xi to begin, Putin played several chords. According to TASS news agency and state Russian television, Putin played passages from Soviet-era songs about Moscow and St Petersburg.

The 64-year-old former KGB spy has demonstrated his skills on the piano in the past although he has mostly cultivated a macho image. That included riding a horse in Siberia, piloting firefighting planes and diving in a submersible into the depths of Lake Baikal and the&nbsp;Black Sea off the Crimea coast.&nbsp;

(Reuters)

Putin was in Beijing for China's 'One Belt, One Road' summit

Russian President Vladimir Putin played piano while awaiting Chinese leader Xi Jinping for bilateral talks in Beijing on Sunday. Putin spoke earlier on Sunday at a summit on China's new Silk Road plan. He later arrived at state Diaoyutai residence for talks with Xi and other leaders. While waiting for his bilateral with Xi to begin, Putin played several chords. According to TASS news agency and state Russian television, Putin played passages from Soviet-era songs about Moscow and St Petersburg. The 64-year-old former KGB spy has demonstrated his skills on the piano in the past although he has mostly cultivated a macho image. That included riding a horse in Siberia, piloting firefighting planes and diving in a submersible into the depths of Lake Baikal and the Black Sea off the Crimea coast. (Reuters)

As he awaits talks with China's Xi, Putin plays piano

German Chancellor Angela Merkel and President Vladimir Putin insisted Tuesday that there was no alternative to a stalled Ukraine peace plan as they struggled to mask deep rifts during a first meeting in Russia since 2015.

Merkel pushed Putin at a frosty encounter to ensure a ceasefire in war-torn east Ukraine, but the Russian leader laid the blame on Kiev for a European-brokered peace deal hitting a dead end.&nbsp;

The rare visit also saw the German chancellor confront Putin over rights issues in Russia, including the alleged persecution of gay men in the North Caucasus region of Chechnya.&nbsp;

&quot;I think we have differences but international politics means to always keep looking for dialogue,&quot; Merkel said at a press conference in the Black Sea resort city of Sochi.&nbsp;

The meeting was meant to focus on preparations for the G20 summit in Hamburg in July, and no major breakthroughs were expected on mending the deep divisions caused by the conflict in Ukraine.&nbsp;

The German leader has strongly backed EU sanctions on Russia for seizing Crimea from Ukraine in 2014 and for supporting a pro-Kremlin separatist insurgency in the east of the country.

Merkel said she hoped some of the sanctions could be lifted if a flatlining peace plan brokered by her and French President Francois Hollande in 2015 was fulfilled.

And both leaders admitted there was no choice but to stick to the process despite its running into a brick wall amid recriminations from all sides.&nbsp;

&quot;We cannot think about any alternative and we should not have to think of it,&quot; Putin said at a press conference.&nbsp;

&quot;It is impossible to create new plans without achieving elementary results for what we outlined in previous years.&quot;

Gay rights

Merkel last visited Russia in May 2015 when she met Putin in Moscow, and the two leaders have scaled back contacts as the Ukraine crisis has driven ties to a post-Cold War low.&nbsp;

Putin talked up economic ties between the two countries, insisting that &quot;our cooperation makes a significant contribution to stabilising the world economy.&quot;

But it was clear that despite pledges to talk there remain deep gulfs between the German leader -- seen as a major bulwark of the Western liberal order -- and the Kremlin strongman, who many accuse of trying to undermine it.&nbsp;

At the press conference Merkel said she raised recent high-profile accusations of rights abuses in Russia, including allegations the authorities in Chechnya were rounding up gay men.&nbsp;

&quot;We received very negative reports about how homosexuals are treated in Chechnya,&quot; Merkel said. &quot;I asked President Putin to use his influence to guarantee the rights of minorities.&quot;

Ramzan Kadyrov, the Putin-loyalist and strongman leader of Chechnya, has fiercely denied claims of a crackdown in the socially conservative region, and after a delay Russian investigators said they are probing the allegations.&nbsp;

Putin was also forced to deny that Russia was planning to meddle in German elections that Merkel is competing in later in the year after claims that Moscow interfered with the US presidential vote.&nbsp;

&quot;We never interfered in the political life or the political processes of any other country,&quot; Putin said.&nbsp;

Trump talk, Erdogan meeting

The meeting with Merkel comes ahead of a busy diplomatic push for Putin.

After meeting Merkel, he was expected later Tuesday to hold his third phone call with US President Donald Trump.

The two leaders are looking to make headway on ties in the face of deep rifts over the conflict in Syria and after claims of Russian hacking during the US elections.&nbsp;

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is also due to meet Putin in Sochi on Wednesday.

Putin and Erdogan have inched closer together on Syria as Erdogan&#39;s ties with Europe have deteriorated in recent months.

(AFP)

The rare visit saw the German chancellor confront Putin over the alleged persecution of gay men in Chechnya

German Chancellor Angela Merkel and President Vladimir Putin insisted Tuesday that there was no alternative to a stalled Ukraine peace plan as they struggled to mask deep rifts during a first meeting in Russia since 2015. Merkel pushed Putin at a frosty encounter to ensure a ceasefire in war-torn east Ukraine, but the Russian leader laid the blame on Kiev for a European-brokered peace deal hitting a dead end. The rare visit also saw the German chancellor confront Putin over rights issues in Russia, including the alleged persecution of gay men in the North Caucasus region of Chechnya. "I think we have differences but international politics means to always keep looking for dialogue," Merkel said at a press conference in the Black Sea resort city of Sochi. The meeting was meant to focus on preparations for the G20 summit in Hamburg in July, and no major breakthroughs were expected on mending the deep divisions caused by the conflict in Ukraine. The German leader has strongly backed EU sanctions on Russia for seizing Crimea from Ukraine in 2014 and for supporting a pro-Kremlin separatist insurgency in the east of the country. Merkel said she hoped some of the sanctions could be lifted if a flatlining peace plan brokered by her and French President Francois Hollande in 2015 was fulfilled. And both leaders admitted there was no choice but to stick to the process despite its running into a brick wall amid recriminations from all sides. "We cannot think about any alternative and we should not have to think of it," Putin said at a press conference. "It is impossible to create new plans without achieving elementary results for what we outlined in previous years." Gay rights Merkel last visited Russia in May 2015 when she met Putin in Moscow, and the two leaders have scaled back contacts as the Ukraine crisis has driven ties to a post-Cold War low. Putin talked up economic ties between the two countries, insisting that "our cooperation makes a significant contribution to stabilising the world economy." But it was clear that despite pledges to talk there remain deep gulfs between the German leader -- seen as a major bulwark of the Western liberal order -- and the Kremlin strongman, who many accuse of trying to undermine it. At the press conference Merkel said she raised recent high-profile accusations of rights abuses in Russia, including allegations the authorities in Chechnya were rounding up gay men. "We received very negative reports about how homosexuals are treated in Chechnya," Merkel said. "I asked President Putin to use his influence to guarantee the rights of minorities." Ramzan Kadyrov, the Putin-loyalist and strongman leader of Chechnya, has fiercely denied claims of a crackdown in the socially conservative region, and after a delay Russian investigators said they are probing the allegations. Putin was also forced to deny that Russia was planning to meddle in German elections that Merkel is competing in later in the year after claims that Moscow interfered with the US presidential vote. "We never interfered in the political life or the political processes of any other country," Putin said. Trump talk, Erdogan meeting The meeting with Merkel comes ahead of a busy diplomatic push for Putin. After meeting Merkel, he was expected later Tuesday to hold his third phone call with US President Donald Trump. The two leaders are looking to make headway on ties in the face of deep rifts over the conflict in Syria and after claims of Russian hacking during the US elections. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is also due to meet Putin in Sochi on Wednesday. Putin and Erdogan have inched closer together on Syria as Erdogan's ties with Europe have deteriorated in recent months. (AFP)

Merkel pushes Putin on Ukraine, gay rights

A Russian government think tank controlled by Vladimir Putin developed a plan to swing the 2016 US&nbsp;presidential election to Donald Trump and undermine voters&rsquo; faith in the American electoral system, three current and four former US&nbsp;officials told Reuters.

They described two confidential documents from the think tank as providing the framework and rationale for what US&nbsp;intelligence agencies have concluded was an intensive effort by Russia to interfere with the November&nbsp;8 election. US&nbsp;intelligence officials acquired the documents, which were prepared by the Moscow-based Russian Institute for Strategic Studies, after the election.

The institute is run by retired senior Russian foreign intelligence officials appointed by Putin&rsquo;s office.

The first Russian institute document was a strategy paper written last June that circulated at the highest levels of the Russian government but was not addressed to any specific individuals.

It recommended the Kremlin launch a propaganda campaign on social media and Russian state-backed global news outlets to encourage US&nbsp;voters to elect a president who would take a softer line towards Russia than the administration of then-President Barack Obama, the seven officials said.

A second institute document, drafted in October and distributed in the same way, warned that Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton was likely to win the election. For that reason, it argued, it was better for Russia to end its pro-Trump propaganda and instead intensify its messaging about voter fraud to undermine the US&nbsp;electoral system&rsquo;s legitimacy and damage Clinton&rsquo;s reputation in an effort to undermine her presidency, the seven officials said.

The current and former US&nbsp;officials spoke on the condition of anonymity due to the Russian documents&rsquo; classified status. They declined to discuss how the United States obtained them. US&nbsp;intelligence agencies also declined to comment on them.

Putin has denied interfering in the US&nbsp;election. Putin&rsquo;s spokesman and the Russian institute did not respond to requests for comment.

The documents were central to the Obama administration&#39;s conclusion that Russia mounted a &ldquo;fake news&rdquo; campaign and launched cyber attacks against Democratic Party groups and Clinton&#39;s campaign, the current and former officials said.

&ldquo;Putin had the objective in mind all along, and he asked the institute to draw him a road map,&rdquo; said one of the sources, a former senior US&nbsp;intelligence official.

Trump has said Russia&rsquo;s activities had no impact on the outcome of the race. Ongoing congressional and FBI investigations into Russian interference have so far produced no public evidence that Trump associates colluded with the Russian effort to change the outcome of the election.

Four of the officials said the approach outlined in the June strategy paper was a broadening of an effort the Putin administration launched in March 2016. That month the Kremlin instructed state-backed media outlets, including international platforms Russia Today and Sputnik news agency, to start producing positive reports on Trump&rsquo;s quest for the US&nbsp;presidency, the officials said.

Russia Today did not respond to a request for comment. A spokesperson for Sputnik dismissed the assertions by the US&nbsp;officials that it participated in a Kremlin campaign as an &ldquo;absolute pack of lies.&rdquo; &ldquo;And by the way, it&#39;s not the first pack of lies we&#39;re hearing from &#39;sources in U.S.&nbsp;official circles&#39;,&quot; the spokesperson said in an email.

&nbsp;

PRO-KREMLIN BLOGGERS

Russia Today and Sputnik published anti-Clinton stories while pro-Kremlin bloggers prepared a Twitter campaign calling into question the fairness of an anticipated Clinton victory, according to a <a href="https://www.intelligence.senate.gov/sites/default/files/documents/ICA_2017_01.pdf" target="_blank">report </a>by US&nbsp;intelligence agencies on Russian interference in the election made public in January.

Russia Today&rsquo;s most popular Clinton video - &ldquo;How 100% of the 2015 Clintons&rsquo; &lsquo;charity&rsquo; went to ... themselves&rdquo; - accumulated 9 millions views on social media, according to the January <a href="https://www.facebook.com/RTAmerica/videos/10153703671361366/" target="_blank">report</a>.&nbsp;

The report said Russia Today and Sputnik &ldquo;consistently cast president elect-Trump as the target of unfair coverage from traditional media outlets.&quot;

The <a href="https://www.intelligence.senate.gov/sites/default/files/documents/ICA_2017_01.pdf" target="_blank">report </a>said the agencies did not assess whether Moscow&rsquo;s effort had swung the outcome of the race in Trump&rsquo;s favour, because American intelligence agencies do not &ldquo;analyse US&nbsp;political processes or US&nbsp;public opinion&rdquo;.

&nbsp;

CYBER ATTACKS

Neither of the Russian institute documents mentioned the release of hacked Democratic Party emails to interfere with the US election,&nbsp;according to four of the officials. The officials said the hacking was a covert intelligence operation run separately out of the Kremlin.

The overt propaganda and covert hacking efforts reinforced each other, according to the officials. Both Russia Today and Sputnik heavily promoted the release of the hacked Democratic Party emails, which often contained embarrassing details.

Five of the US&nbsp;officials described the institute as the Kremlin&rsquo;s in-house foreign policy think tank.

The institute&rsquo;s director when the documents were written, Leonid Reshetnikov, rose to the rank of lieutenant general during a 33-year-career in Russia&rsquo;s foreign intelligence service, according to the institute&rsquo;s <a href="https://riss.ru/profile/prime/" target="_blank">website</a>. After Reshetnikov retired from the institute in January, Putin named as his replacement Mikhail Fradkov. The institute <a href="https://en.riss.ru/profile/mikhail-fradkov/" target="_blank">says </a>he served as the director of Russia&rsquo;s foreign intelligence service from 2007 to 2016.

Reuters was unable to determine if either man was directly involved in the drafting of the documents. Reshetnikov&rsquo;s office referred questions to the Russian institute.

On its <a href="https://en.riss.ru/about/]" target="_blank">website</a>, the Russian institute describes itself as providing &ldquo;expert appraisals,&rdquo; &ldquo;recommendations,&rdquo; and &ldquo;analytical materials&rdquo; to the Russian president&rsquo;s office, cabinet, National Security Council, ministries and parliament.

On Jan. 31, the <a href="http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/53793" target="_blank">websites </a>of Putin&rsquo;s office&nbsp;and the <a href="https://en.riss.ru/news/20063/" target="_blank">institute</a>&nbsp;posted a picture and transcript of Reshetnikov and his successor Fradkov meeting with Putin in the Kremlin. Putin thanked Reshetnikov for his service and told Fradkov he wanted the institute to provide objective information and analysis.

&ldquo;We did our best for nearly eight years to implement your foreign policy concept,&rdquo; Reshetnikov told Putin. &ldquo;The policy of Russia and the policy of the President of Russia have been the cornerstone of our operation.&rdquo;

(Reuters)

It recommended that the Kremlin launch a propaganda campaign on social media and Russian state-backed global news outlets

A Russian government think tank controlled by Vladimir Putin developed a plan to swing the 2016 US presidential election to Donald Trump and undermine voters’ faith in the American electoral system, three current and four former US officials told Reuters. They described two confidential documents from the think tank as providing the framework and rationale for what US intelligence agencies have concluded was an intensive effort by Russia to interfere with the November 8 election. US intelligence officials acquired the documents, which were prepared by the Moscow-based Russian Institute for Strategic Studies, after the election. The institute is run by retired senior Russian foreign intelligence officials appointed by Putin’s office. The first Russian institute document was a strategy paper written last June that circulated at the highest levels of the Russian government but was not addressed to any specific individuals. It recommended the Kremlin launch a propaganda campaign on social media and Russian state-backed global news outlets to encourage US voters to elect a president who would take a softer line towards Russia than the administration of then-President Barack Obama, the seven officials said. A second institute document, drafted in October and distributed in the same way, warned that Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton was likely to win the election. For that reason, it argued, it was better for Russia to end its pro-Trump propaganda and instead intensify its messaging about voter fraud to undermine the US electoral system’s legitimacy and damage Clinton’s reputation in an effort to undermine her presidency, the seven officials said. The current and former US officials spoke on the condition of anonymity due to the Russian documents’ classified status. They declined to discuss how the United States obtained them. US intelligence agencies also declined to comment on them. Putin has denied interfering in the US election. Putin’s spokesman and the Russian institute did not respond to requests for comment. The documents were central to the Obama administration's conclusion that Russia mounted a “fake news” campaign and launched cyber attacks against Democratic Party groups and Clinton's campaign, the current and former officials said. “Putin had the objective in mind all along, and he asked the institute to draw him a road map,” said one of the sources, a former senior US intelligence official. Trump has said Russia’s activities had no impact on the outcome of the race. Ongoing congressional and FBI investigations into Russian interference have so far produced no public evidence that Trump associates colluded with the Russian effort to change the outcome of the election. Four of the officials said the approach outlined in the June strategy paper was a broadening of an effort the Putin administration launched in March 2016. That month the Kremlin instructed state-backed media outlets, including international platforms Russia Today and Sputnik news agency, to start producing positive reports on Trump’s quest for the US presidency, the officials said. Russia Today did not respond to a request for comment. A spokesperson for Sputnik dismissed the assertions by the US officials that it participated in a Kremlin campaign as an “absolute pack of lies.” “And by the way, it's not the first pack of lies we're hearing from 'sources in U.S. official circles'," the spokesperson said in an email. PRO-KREMLIN BLOGGERS Russia Today and Sputnik published anti-Clinton stories while pro-Kremlin bloggers prepared a Twitter campaign calling into question the fairness of an anticipated Clinton victory, according to a report by US intelligence agencies on Russian interference in the election made public in January. Russia Today’s most popular Clinton video - “How 100% of the 2015 Clintons’ ‘charity’ went to ... themselves” - accumulated 9 millions views on social media, according to the January report. The report said Russia Today and Sputnik “consistently cast president elect-Trump as the target of unfair coverage from traditional media outlets." The report said the agencies did not assess whether Moscow’s effort had swung the outcome of the race in Trump’s favour, because American intelligence agencies do not “analyse US political processes or US public opinion”. CYBER ATTACKS Neither of the Russian institute documents mentioned the release of hacked Democratic Party emails to interfere with the US election, according to four of the officials. The officials said the hacking was a covert intelligence operation run separately out of the Kremlin. The overt propaganda and covert hacking efforts reinforced each other, according to the officials. Both Russia Today and Sputnik heavily promoted the release of the hacked Democratic Party emails, which often contained embarrassing details. Five of the US officials described the institute as the Kremlin’s in-house foreign policy think tank. The institute’s director when the documents were written, Leonid Reshetnikov, rose to the rank of lieutenant general during a 33-year-career in Russia’s foreign intelligence service, according to the institute’s website. After Reshetnikov retired from the institute in January, Putin named as his replacement Mikhail Fradkov. The institute says he served as the director of Russia’s foreign intelligence service from 2007 to 2016. Reuters was unable to determine if either man was directly involved in the drafting of the documents. Reshetnikov’s office referred questions to the Russian institute. On its website, the Russian institute describes itself as providing “expert appraisals,” “recommendations,” and “analytical materials” to the Russian president’s office, cabinet, National Security Council, ministries and parliament. On Jan. 31, the websites of Putin’s office and the institute posted a picture and transcript of Reshetnikov and his successor Fradkov meeting with Putin in the Kremlin. Putin thanked Reshetnikov for his service and told Fradkov he wanted the institute to provide objective information and analysis. “We did our best for nearly eight years to implement your foreign policy concept,” Reshetnikov told Putin. “The policy of Russia and the policy of the President of Russia have been the cornerstone of our operation.” (Reuters)

Putin-linked think tank planned to sway 2016 US election: Documents

After less than three months in office, President Donald Trump has abruptly indicated a shift in&nbsp;his stance on an array of foreign policy issues from the US&nbsp;relationship with Russia and China to the value of the NATO alliance.

Trump, who ran for the White House on a pledge to shake up the status quo in Washington, repeatedly lashed out at China during the campaign, accusing Beijing of being a &quot;grand champion&quot; of currency manipulation. Candidate Trump also dismissed the NATO military alliance as obsolete and said he hoped to build warmer ties with Russia.

But at a White House news conference and in a newspaper interview on Wednesday, he offered starkly different views on those issues, saying his relationship with Moscow was souring while ties with Beijing were improving. He also lavished praise on NATO, saying it was adapting to changing global threats.

&quot;I said it was obsolete. It&#39;s no longer obsolete,&quot; Trump said as he stood at a news conference alongside NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg in the White House East Room on Wednesday.&nbsp;

The apparent reversals on Russia and NATO could reassure US&nbsp;allies in Europe who were rattled by Trump&#39;s overtures toward Moscow during the campaign. But the president&#39;s talk of &quot;bonding&quot; with Chinese President Xi Jinping could sow confusion in Asia, where US&nbsp;allies are fearful of a rising China.

&nbsp;

Trump&nbsp;claims US-Russia relations are at&nbsp;&quot;all time low&quot;&nbsp;

Trump&#39;s U-turn&nbsp;in&nbsp;foreign policy came amid infighting within his administration that has lately seen a decline in the influence of political operatives, mainly his chief strategist, Steve Bannon, whose former publication <a href="http://dailycaller.com/2017/03/21/fbi-probing-breitbart-infowars-in-russian-influence-investigation/">Breitbart News</a> is&nbsp;under FBI investigation for links to Russia.

Six months ago, candidate Trump suggested he was eager for an alliance with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

&quot;If he says great things about me, I&#39;m going to say great things about him,&quot; Trump said last September.

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false">
<div class="videos-block">
<div class="embed-responsive embed-responsive-16by9"><iframe class="embed-responsive-item" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/XiHAvCcWld8"></iframe></div>
</div>

<div class="media-description">
U.S. President Donald Trump voiced caution on his relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin, saying he would wait and see about future ties with Moscow (Reuters)
</div>
<a class="close-mark close-div" href="#" id="jqclosemark">&times;</a></div>

On Wednesday, however, Trump said he had growing concerns about Russia&#39;s support of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

&quot;We may be at an all-time low in terms of a relationship with Russia,&quot; said Trump, who ordered the firing of US&nbsp;cruise missiles at a Syrian airfield last week after Putin-backed Assad was&nbsp;suspected of using&nbsp;poison gas against civilians in Syria&#39;s civil war.

While many are focused on Trump&#39;s claim that US-Russia relations are at a low, he also said in the very same press conference, &quot;It would be wonderful...if Nato and our country could get along with Russia.&quot;

The Trump administration itself is currently under FBI investigation for its links to Russia, and for its possible role in working with Moscow&#39;s effort to interfere in the 2016 US election to benefit Trump.

&nbsp;

China reversal

While criticising Russia on Wednesday, Trump said he and Xi had bonded during the Chinese president&#39;s visit to the Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, where they dined together with their wives and held talks.

Ahead of that visit, Trump had predicted &quot;difficult&quot; discussions on trade.

The improving ties with Beijing were underscored when Trump told the Wall Street Journal in an interview on Wednesday that he would not declare China a currency manipulator as he had pledged to do on his first day in office.

Trump, a former real estate developer, took office in January as a government novice whose foreign policy mantra was a vow to keep America safe and build up the US&nbsp;military.

&nbsp;

Another reversal: Distancing himself from his own administration, again

In an interview with the New York Post on Tuesday, Trump offered only lukewarm support for Bannon.

&ldquo;I like Steve, but you have to remember he was not involved in my campaign until very late. I had already beaten all the senators and governors, and I didn&#39;t know Steve. I&#39;m my own strategist, and it&#39;s not like I was going to change strategies because I was facing&nbsp;crooked Hillary,&rdquo; Trump said.

The claim that he didn&#39;t know Steve Bannon until the 2016 is false, the same <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/12/us/politics/trump-steven-bannon-fox-business-news-interview.html" target="_blank">New York Times</a> reports.

&nbsp;

Critics have pointed out that the Trump administration&nbsp;made similar distancing statements with&nbsp;former campaign manager, Paul Manafort, and former National Security adviser Michael Flynn.&nbsp;

White House S<a href="http://fortune.com/2017/03/22/paul-manafort-donald-trump-vladimir-putin/" target="_blank">pokesman </a>Sean Spicer said that Flynn was only a &quot;campaign volunteer&quot;.&nbsp;Michael Flynn&nbsp;was forced to resign on February&nbsp;13 for contacts with Russia&#39;s ambassador to the United States before Trump took office, contacts which he misled the Vice President about.

In another&nbsp;example, a few weeks ago Spicer said&nbsp;that in the 2016 election campaign Manafort only played &quot;a very limited role for a very limited time&quot;. Manafort worked on the campaign for five months, during a crucial time, and was the campaign manager for three of those months, <a href="http://fortune.com/2017/03/22/paul-manafort-donald-trump-vladimir-putin/" target="_blank">Fortune </a>reports.&nbsp;

He only resigned after a barrage of negative press after it came to light that he received millions of dollars in undisclosed payments from the party of the Russia-backed Ukrainian leader, Viktor Yanukovich.

Hours ago Manafort&#39;s&nbsp;spokesman said he is planning to register with the Justice Department as a foreign agent,<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/apr/12/paul-manafort-foreign-agent-trump-russia" target="_blank"> The Guardian</a> reports. He denies any impropriety.

(WION with inputs from Reuters)

These drastic reversals come as the Trump administration faces more pressure under the ongoing investigation for their links to Russia

After less than three months in office, President Donald Trump has abruptly indicated a shift in his stance on an array of foreign policy issues from the US relationship with Russia and China to the value of the NATO alliance. Trump, who ran for the White House on a pledge to shake up the status quo in Washington, repeatedly lashed out at China during the campaign, accusing Beijing of being a "grand champion" of currency manipulation. Candidate Trump also dismissed the NATO military alliance as obsolete and said he hoped to build warmer ties with Russia. But at a White House news conference and in a newspaper interview on Wednesday, he offered starkly different views on those issues, saying his relationship with Moscow was souring while ties with Beijing were improving. He also lavished praise on NATO, saying it was adapting to changing global threats. "I said it was obsolete. It's no longer obsolete," Trump said as he stood at a news conference alongside NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg in the White House East Room on Wednesday. The apparent reversals on Russia and NATO could reassure US allies in Europe who were rattled by Trump's overtures toward Moscow during the campaign. But the president's talk of "bonding" with Chinese President Xi Jinping could sow confusion in Asia, where US allies are fearful of a rising China. Trump claims US-Russia relations are at "all time low" Trump's U-turn in foreign policy came amid infighting within his administration that has lately seen a decline in the influence of political operatives, mainly his chief strategist, Steve Bannon, whose former publication Breitbart News is under FBI investigation for links to Russia. Six months ago, candidate Trump suggested he was eager for an alliance with Russian President Vladimir Putin. "If he says great things about me, I'm going to say great things about him," Trump said last September. U.S. President Donald Trump voiced caution on his relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin, saying he would wait and see about future ties with Moscow (Reuters) × On Wednesday, however, Trump said he had growing concerns about Russia's support of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. "We may be at an all-time low in terms of a relationship with Russia," said Trump, who ordered the firing of US cruise missiles at a Syrian airfield last week after Putin-backed Assad was suspected of using poison gas against civilians in Syria's civil war. While many are focused on Trump's claim that US-Russia relations are at a low, he also said in the very same press conference, "It would be wonderful...if Nato and our country could get along with Russia." The Trump administration itself is currently under FBI investigation for its links to Russia, and for its possible role in working with Moscow's effort to interfere in the 2016 US election to benefit Trump. China reversal While criticising Russia on Wednesday, Trump said he and Xi had bonded during the Chinese president's visit to the Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, where they dined together with their wives and held talks. Ahead of that visit, Trump had predicted "difficult" discussions on trade. The improving ties with Beijing were underscored when Trump told the Wall Street Journal in an interview on Wednesday that he would not declare China a currency manipulator as he had pledged to do on his first day in office. Trump, a former real estate developer, took office in January as a government novice whose foreign policy mantra was a vow to keep America safe and build up the US military. Another reversal: Distancing himself from his own administration, again In an interview with the New York Post on Tuesday, Trump offered only lukewarm support for Bannon. “I like Steve, but you have to remember he was not involved in my campaign until very late. I had already beaten all the senators and governors, and I didn't know Steve. I'm my own strategist, and it's not like I was going to change strategies because I was facing crooked Hillary,” Trump said. The claim that he didn't know Steve Bannon until the 2016 is false, the same New York Times reports. Critics have pointed out that the Trump administration made similar distancing statements with former campaign manager, Paul Manafort, and former National Security adviser Michael Flynn. White House Spokesman Sean Spicer said that Flynn was only a "campaign volunteer". Michael Flynn was forced to resign on February 13 for contacts with Russia's ambassador to the United States before Trump took office, contacts which he misled the Vice President about. In another example, a few weeks ago Spicer said that in the 2016 election campaign Manafort only played "a very limited role for a very limited time". Manafort worked on the campaign for five months, during a crucial time, and was the campaign manager for three of those months, Fortune reports. He only resigned after a barrage of negative press after it came to light that he received millions of dollars in undisclosed payments from the party of the Russia-backed Ukrainian leader, Viktor Yanukovich. Hours ago Manafort's spokesman said he is planning to register with the Justice Department as a foreign agent, The Guardian reports. He denies any impropriety. (WION with inputs from Reuters)

In abrupt shift, Trump appears to sour on Russia but warm to China and NATO

Levels of trust between Moscow and Washington have deteriorated since US&nbsp;President Donald Trump took office, Russian President Vladimir Putin said in an interview broadcast on Wednesday, Reuters reports.

Asked about relations since Trump became president, Putin said, according to a transcript of the interview released by the Kremlin: &quot;One could say that the level of trust on a working level, especially on the military level, has not improved, but rather has deteriorated.&quot;

Asked about accusations that Syria&#39;s government launched a chemical weapons attack in Idlib province, Putin said that Damascus had given up its chemical weapons stocks, Reuters reports.

He said he believed there were two main explanations for the incident in Idlib province: that Syrian government air strikes had hit rebel chemical weapons stocks, releasing poisonous gas, or that the incident was a set-up designed to discredit the Syrian government.

&nbsp;

Downplaying Russia-US connection?

Putin&#39;s claim that Moscow&#39;s relations have worsened since Trump has taken office comes as the FBI is investigating Russian interference in the US election designed to benefit Trump, and whether or not anyone in the Trump campaign actively worked with Russian agents.

It also comes a day after Eric Trump, the US President&#39;s son, also distanced Washington from Moscow.

In an interview with The Daily Telegraph published yesterday, referring to America&#39;s strike last week against a Syrian airbase on April 4,&nbsp;US President Donald Trump&#39;s son Eric Trump asserted:&nbsp;&quot;If there was anything that Syria did, it was to validate the fact that there is no Russia tie.&quot;

Yesterday, <a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/fbi-obtained-court-order-to-monitor-ex-trump-adviser-in-russia-probe-washington-post-14431" target="_blank">The Washington Post</a>&nbsp;reported that last summer&nbsp;the FBI convinced a Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court judge that there was probably cause to believe that former Trump&nbsp;adviser Carter Page, who worked with the campaign during the 2016 federal election, was a Russian agent.

Just over two weeks ago it was reported that Trump&#39;s son-in-law Jared Kushner, himself a top White House adviser, met with Russian bank officials officially under Western&nbsp;sanctions.&nbsp;

Days ago it was reported that he failed to disclose dozens of such meetings&nbsp;on US security clearance forms. Failure to make such a&nbsp;disclosure&nbsp;could be a felony.

<a href="http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/327753-kushner-didnt-disclose-meetings-with-russians-on-security-clearance" target="_blank">The Hill</a> reports that Kushners laws claim the omissions were an error, and that top White House aide&#39;s notified the FBI the following day with additional information. More, his aides claim&nbsp;he is only using a temporary security clearance now.

Trump&#39;s pick for National Security Adviser Michael Flynn had to resign after it came to light that he misled the administration about his concversation with the Russian ambassador to the United States, Sergey Kislyak.

Trump&#39;s pick for Attorney General Jeff Sessions&nbsp;recused himself from the investigation into Trump-Russia after it emerged that he also lied under oath about meeting Ambassador Kislyak.

(WION)

The claim comes just after Trump's son also distanced Washington from Moscow, amid an FBI investigation into the connection between the two

Levels of trust between Moscow and Washington have deteriorated since US President Donald Trump took office, Russian President Vladimir Putin said in an interview broadcast on Wednesday, Reuters reports. Asked about relations since Trump became president, Putin said, according to a transcript of the interview released by the Kremlin: "One could say that the level of trust on a working level, especially on the military level, has not improved, but rather has deteriorated." Asked about accusations that Syria's government launched a chemical weapons attack in Idlib province, Putin said that Damascus had given up its chemical weapons stocks, Reuters reports. He said he believed there were two main explanations for the incident in Idlib province: that Syrian government air strikes had hit rebel chemical weapons stocks, releasing poisonous gas, or that the incident was a set-up designed to discredit the Syrian government. Downplaying Russia-US connection? Putin's claim that Moscow's relations have worsened since Trump has taken office comes as the FBI is investigating Russian interference in the US election designed to benefit Trump, and whether or not anyone in the Trump campaign actively worked with Russian agents. It also comes a day after Eric Trump, the US President's son, also distanced Washington from Moscow. In an interview with The Daily Telegraph published yesterday, referring to America's strike last week against a Syrian airbase on April 4, US President Donald Trump's son Eric Trump asserted: "If there was anything that Syria did, it was to validate the fact that there is no Russia tie." Yesterday, The Washington Post reported that last summer the FBI convinced a Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court judge that there was probably cause to believe that former Trump adviser Carter Page, who worked with the campaign during the 2016 federal election, was a Russian agent. Just over two weeks ago it was reported that Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner, himself a top White House adviser, met with Russian bank officials officially under Western sanctions. Days ago it was reported that he failed to disclose dozens of such meetings on US security clearance forms. Failure to make such a disclosure could be a felony. The Hill reports that Kushners laws claim the omissions were an error, and that top White House aide's notified the FBI the following day with additional information. More, his aides claim he is only using a temporary security clearance now. Trump's pick for National Security Adviser Michael Flynn had to resign after it came to light that he misled the administration about his concversation with the Russian ambassador to the United States, Sergey Kislyak. Trump's pick for Attorney General Jeff Sessions recused himself from the investigation into Trump-Russia after it emerged that he also lied under oath about meeting Ambassador Kislyak. (WION)

Putin says US-Russia ties worse since Trump took office

The US&nbsp;position on Syria remains a mystery to Moscow and Washington&#39;s rhetoric tends to be primitive and loutish, Russian news agencies quoted Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov as saying on Wednesday.

Ryabkov&#39;s remarks were released minutes before US&nbsp;Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, the highest level representative of the Trump administration to visit Russia, was due to start talks with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov, Reuters reports.

Ryabkov said that at the talks Russia expected to discuss no-fly zones in Syria, and that North Korea and Ukraine would also be on the agenda.

US&nbsp;Secretary of State Rex Tillerson told Lavrov&nbsp;on Wednesday that he wanted to use talks in Moscow to understand why Russia and Washington had sharp differences and find a way to bridge those differences.

&nbsp;

Ultimatums

Moscow said Wednesday, prior to the meeting, that it was useless to give Russia an ultimatum, in response to the United States&#39; top diplomat urging it to stop supporting the Syrian government regime. 
 
&quot;It seems to me that everyone has already understood that it is useless to travel to us with ultimatums, it is simply counterproductive,&quot; said Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova. 
 
It was uncertain whether Tillerson would be meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin as it was not part of the agenda but the Kremlin had not ruled out the possibility. 
 
Tillerson&#39;s Moscow visit made him the first senior American official to visit Russia since US President Donald Trump came to power. 
 
In a statement published on the Department of State&#39;s website, Tillerson suggested Russia choose between supporting the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and an alliance with the West. 
 
&quot;Is that a long-term alliance that serves Russia&#39;s interest, or would Russia prefer to realign with the United States, with other Western countries and Middle East countries who are seeking to resolve the Syrian crisis?&quot; Tillerson said ahead of his trip to Moscow. 
 
Since a suspected chemical attack on April&nbsp;4 in the northern Syrian province of Idlib, the US has accused Russia of being morally responsible for the deaths of almost 100 Syrian civilians. 
 
The US last week launched air strikes on a regime airbase in response to the alleged chemical attack.

(Agencies)

Moscow said it was useless to give Russia an ultimatum between supporting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad or allying with the West

The US position on Syria remains a mystery to Moscow and Washington's rhetoric tends to be primitive and loutish, Russian news agencies quoted Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov as saying on Wednesday. Ryabkov's remarks were released minutes before US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, the highest level representative of the Trump administration to visit Russia, was due to start talks with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov, Reuters reports. Ryabkov said that at the talks Russia expected to discuss no-fly zones in Syria, and that North Korea and Ukraine would also be on the agenda. US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson told Lavrov on Wednesday that he wanted to use talks in Moscow to understand why Russia and Washington had sharp differences and find a way to bridge those differences. Ultimatums Moscow said Wednesday, prior to the meeting, that it was useless to give Russia an ultimatum, in response to the United States' top diplomat urging it to stop supporting the Syrian government regime. "It seems to me that everyone has already understood that it is useless to travel to us with ultimatums, it is simply counterproductive," said Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova. It was uncertain whether Tillerson would be meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin as it was not part of the agenda but the Kremlin had not ruled out the possibility. Tillerson's Moscow visit made him the first senior American official to visit Russia since US President Donald Trump came to power. In a statement published on the Department of State's website, Tillerson suggested Russia choose between supporting the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and an alliance with the West. "Is that a long-term alliance that serves Russia's interest, or would Russia prefer to realign with the United States, with other Western countries and Middle East countries who are seeking to resolve the Syrian crisis?" Tillerson said ahead of his trip to Moscow. Since a suspected chemical attack on April 4 in the northern Syrian province of Idlib, the US has accused Russia of being morally responsible for the deaths of almost 100 Syrian civilians. The US last week launched air strikes on a regime airbase in response to the alleged chemical attack. (Agencies)

Moscow says US position on Syria remains a 'mystery', rhetoric tends to be 'primitive', 'loutish'

vladimir-putin

Vladimir Putin, News on Vladimir Putin, stories on Vladimir Putin, articles on Vladimir Putin, Vladimir Putin stories at Wion, Vladimir Putin news, Vladimir Putin latest news

vladimir putin