Trump says he 'gets along' with Putin amid international criticism of Russian aggression
Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin
US President Donald Trump might have broken his recent silence on Russia and the attack on Kremlin critic Alexey Navalny, but there has been no reaction on alleged Russian efforts to interfere in US politics. This despite Thursday's news that an intelligence bulletin issued by the Department of Homeland Security warned that Moscow is attempting to sow doubt about the integrity of the 2020 elections by amplifying false claims that mail-in voting resulting in widespread fraud.
Instead, Trump appeared starkly out of step with the leaders of Britain and Germany, who have expressed outrage at the attack on Navalny.
He called it "tragic" but emphasising that he has a good relationship with the Russian leader.
"I don't know exactly what happened. I think it's tragic. It's terrible; it shouldn't happen. We haven't had any proof yet, but I will take a look," Trump said on Friday in a news conference at the White House.
In response to further questions on the matter he attempted to deflect to his favorite opponent, claiming that what China is doing is "far worse." And as he had done the night before at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania, he stressed, "I do get along with President Putin."
Also, Trump did not make any mention of other provocations in recent weeks, including a collision between a Russian military convoy and a US armoured vehicle that injured seven American troops.
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These were his first comments on Navalny since Germany said he had been poisoned with a chemical nerve agent from the Novichok group -- the same substance the Kremlin used to poison ex-Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter in the United Kingdom in March 2018.
In recent days, a Russian submarine suddenly surfaced off Alaska, and a US B-52 bomber was intercepted by a Russian Su-27 fighter over the Baltic Sea. The Russians followed the B-52 well into Danish airspace, committing a significant violation of the airspace of a NATO nation and US ally.
But at his Friday news conference, Trump claimed that he's "been tougher on Russia than anybody else by far."
Russia, on its part, has denied any wrongdoing in recent military encounters.
The White House has so far offered no explanation for the President's silence in the face of the repeated military provocations. But experts are unconvinced.