After Plenty of Comments From Trump, Putin Speaks Up

He talks of 'successful' meeting with Trump
By Newser Editors,  Newser Staff
Posted Jul 19, 2018 6:40 AM CDT
In First Comments, Putin Hails 'Successful' Summit
In this July 16 photo, President Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin arrive for a press conference after their meeting at the Presidential Palace in Helsinki, Finland.   (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko, File)

President Trump insists he had a great meeting with Vladimir Putin despite a seemingly endless barrage of negative news stories. Now, one other key person agrees with him: Putin himself. In his first public comments about the summit, the Russian leader called it a "successful" one and said it would help US-Russia relations, reports the AP. Those ties are "in some ways worse than during the Cold War," but the one-on-one meeting has put the two nations on "the path to positive change," Putin said. He also complained of unnamed "forces" in the US who seem bent on stopping any improvement in relations, particularly on topics such as arms control and Syria.

Putin's comments came as Trump returned to Twitter on Thursday with a familiar theme. "The Fake News Media wants so badly to see a major confrontation with Russia, even a confrontation that could lead to war," he wrote. "They are pushing so recklessly hard and hate the fact that I’ll probably have a good relationship with Putin. We are doing MUCH better than any other country!" In another tweet, he complained about the "total fiction" being written about him in news stories. (Trump now says that he holds Putin personally responsible for the Russian meddling in the 2016 election.)

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