Trump to speak with Putin on Saturday

William Miller, a former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine, does not believe that President Trump would lift sanctions without consulting with America’s European partners first, because “it would do great damage to the relationship with the Ukraine not to mention the allies and [German Chancellor] Angela Merkel”.

“It also doesn’t matter”, she said.

Trump gave a noncommittal walk-back later Friday.

“Trump’s foreign policy is totally unpredictable”, said a senior official of the 28-nation European Union, which Trump has said is bound for a break-up.

General James “Mad Dog” Mattis has been sworn in as secretary of defense. “And we’re going to renegotiate other aspects of our relationship with Mexico”, he added.

Asked about the reports of a plans to drop sanctions, he said: “I do not know how far these statements correspond to reality”.

Washington, D.C.-Human Rights First today urged the Trump Administration to maintain stringent sanctions against the Russian Federation until it has fully complied with the requirements for their removal. The Prime Minister, standing by the US President, said they had to stay in place as Russian Federation had failed to meet its commitments.

Donald Trump has often spoken about his determination to fight the Islamic State (IS) in Iraq and Syria, in collaboration with Russian Federation.

The high geopolitical anxiety is most evident in East Asia, where China’s ambitions are colliding with longstanding US dominance in the Pacific.

On Thursday, in a speech to US Republican lawmakers, May had suggested Washington engage Putin but be wary of him. That won’t necessarily happen, unfortunately probably won’t happen with many countries. In his view, Russian Federation and the US, along with other nuclear powers, must find a new approach in the sphere of nuclear security, “which would be based not on the reduction or increase of nuclear arsenals, but on the preservation of the global status quo”.

On Friday, Peskov looked ahead to the Trump-Putin call: “As it usually happens during such contacts, the sides will naturally exchange opinions on key parameters of the current state of bilateral affairs”.

McCain, Portman, and a number of other senators introduced bipartisan sanctions legislation in January that would codify some of Obama’s executive orders, among other moves meant to counter Russia’s destabilizing activities. “We are going to be working on a fair relationship and a new relationship”.

The two countries “are united in our recognition of North Atlantic Treaty Organisation as the bulwark our collective defence, and today we’ve reaffirmed our unshakable commitment to this alliance”, she told reporters.