WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump today indicated that he could meet his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin and said Russia should be allowed to rejoin the Group of Seven industrialised nations "It's possible that we'll meet, yeah," Trump told reporters when asked if he is planning to meet Putin this summer.
He said Russia should be allowed to rejoin the Group of Seven industrialised nations.
"This all started because somebody, one of you, asked, 'Should Putin be in the G-7?' I said, 'No, he should be in the G-8.' A few years ago, Putin was in what was called the G-8. I think it's better to have Russia in, than to have Russia out, because just like North Korea, just like somebody else, it's much better if we get along with them, than if we don't. So, it's possible," he said.
Trump has repeatedly expressed a willingness to deal with Putin in spite of Russia's alleged meddling in the 2016 elections.
Trump blamed his predecessor Barack Obama for the Russian annexation of Crimea, claiming it was Obama's "fault" because "Putin didn't respect President Obama."
"President Obama lost Crimea, just so you understand. This was long before I got there. I want to make it so the fake news prints it properly: President Obama lost Crimea, he said.
"So it's his fault? he was asked. Yeah, it's his fault," he answered.
"President Obama lost Crimea because President Putin didn't respect President Obama, didn't respect our country, and didn't respect Ukraine, he said.
"President Obama gave away -- now President Obama by not going across the red line in the sand that he drew -- I went across it with the 59 missile hits. But President Obama when he didn't go across the red line, what he gave away nobody even knows, he alleged.
"One more time, President Obama gave away Crimea. That should have never happened," Trump said.