Hours before his much anticipated meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, President Donald Trump seems to be ready to soften discussions of Russian meddling into the U.S. elections, according to a Virginia Tech expert in international affairs.
“President Trump will raise the issue of interference but without directly accusing President Putin of being behind it,” said Yannis Stivachtis, director of the International Studies Program in the College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences’ Department of Political Science.
“President Putin will most probably deny any official Russian interference in U.S. Presidential elections without at the same time denying the possibility of Russian hackers being behind it. The two presidents will agree to work together to address issues of cyber security.”
Quoting Yannis Stivachtis on the Trump-Putin summit
“Presidents Trump and Putin will pledge their commitment to working together towards the gradual normalization of the relations between the two countries. This would include fighting ISIS, addressing the Syrian issue, and working together on the North Korean issue.”
“In the case of Ukraine, the two presidents will pledge to find a solution that could satisfy all sides concerned — Ukraine, NATO and Russia.”
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Chris Graham
