Section: European Voice (EU)
In Warsaw, Trump sends mixed signals on Moscow
WARSAW — President Donald Trump’s visit to Poland produced mixed signals about his Russia policy a day before Trump’s first meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. At a Thursday morning press conference with Polish Prime Minister Andrzei Duda, Trump again declined to say clearly that he believes...
Trump backs NATO defense pact, criticizes Russia
WARSAW — U.S. President Donald Trump affirmed America’s commitment to NATO’s mutual defense pact on a visit to Poland on Wednesday and called on Russia to end “destabilizing activities” and “support for hostile regimes.” “The United States has demonstrated not merely with words but with its actions that we stand firmly...
What’s worse: If Trump and Putin get along, or if they don’t?
It seems unlikely, given the American uproar about Russia’s interference in the 2016 election, and signs in the Russian media that Vladimir Putin is souring on Donald Trump, that the two presidents will make any major agreements when they meet Friday on the sidelines of the G-20 summit in Hamburg. What is most likely to emerge is a...
Rex Tillerson urges Russia to cooperate on Syria ahead of Trump-Putin meeting
U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson on Wednesday called on Russia to do more to bring peace to Syria and suggested Moscow and Washington could cooperate on establishing no-fly zones in the war-torn Arab country. In the unusual statement, Tillerson also insisted America’s top priority in Syria remains defeating the Islamic State...
Triple threat to Merkel’s G20 bump: Putin, Erdoğan, Trump
BERLIN — For Angela Merkel, meetings like the G20 summit in Hamburg are usually an opportunity to shine. This one comes with a strong dose of trouble. The longtime German leader is known as the “summit chancellor” — Gipfelkanzlerin — for her ability to turn powwows with world leaders into bumps in the...
Donald Trump wants a do-over in Europe
U.S. President Donald Trump is hoping Europe will give him a second chance. This week, he heads to Poland at the invitation of its president and to participate in a regional infrastructure summit and to Hamburg, Germany, for the G20 summit. The trip offers the chance for redemption after a catastrophic visit to Brussels in June that left the NATO...
Europeans can’t think of building a future without the Americans
President Donald Trump isn’t the leader of the free world, says French Ambassador Gérard Araud. These days, he says, no one is. And as Trump heads to Europe Wednesday for his first G-20 meeting as president and first face-to-face encounter with Russian President Vladimir Putin, the world needs to figure out what to do next....
Is all the Russia talk helping Putin?
Not since the end of the Cold War has the political climate in the United States been so focused on Russia. Suspicions that the president tried to shut down investigations into his campaign’s ties to Moscow imperil his political future. Russia and the United States are moving toward a confrontation of sorts over Syrian airspace....
France’s liberal strongman
PARIS — In this era of illiberal authoritarianism, Emmanuel Macron is trademarking a paradoxical brand: the liberal strongman. The young, centrist French president, flush with electoral successes that have wiped out the old political class and given him an absolute majority in parliament, is taking full advantage of the Fifth...
Donald Trump gets lift from media wounds
The scandal that has yet to find a name sailed into the doldrums early this week. The lack of new news about Russia interference in the election and the financial gymnastics of Trump’s advisers was remarkable after weeks of subpoenas, contentious firings, damaging congressional hearings and various Washington Post and New York Times...
