The Secret Conspiracy. Why did the meeting between Trump and Lavrov bother America?
The victory of Russian propaganda and Trump's secret conspiracy immediately called several well-known American politicians the visit of Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov to Washington. Let's try to figure out why the trip of the main Russian diplomat became a real event of the week, which was widely covered in the American media.
Symbolic meeting
As soon as Donald Trump received Sergey Lavrov at the White House, the American press sharply criticized the meeting. Most of all, the critics were annoyed that Trump did not call for the meeting on the basis of the "Norman Four" not the Ukrainian president Vladimir Zelensky, but the head of the Russian diplomatic department.
Congressman Adam Schiff called the meeting a victory for Russian propaganda, and one of the leaders of the US Democratic Party faction in Congress, Chuck Schumer, laughed that Trump, Pompeo and Lavrov had staged a "secret conspiracy." Of course, the words about the secret conspiracy are a joke, but, as you know, every joke has a grain of truth.
The meeting between Trump and Lavrov alone was an exclusively working event, but critics of the American president considered Trump to show neglect to the opposition: they say, despite all the allegations of ties to Russia, I will meet with Russian representatives. This meeting can be regarded as a demonstration of the president’s independence, as he emphasizes that he is not even afraid of the threat of impeachment that hung over him at the initiative of the democrats.
Interestingly, the opposition opposition to Trump does not even go into the content of the meeting, in its essence. For democrats, it’s more important now to simply criticize the fact that the American president is meeting with the Russian foreign minister, although it couldn’t be otherwise: representatives of the two great powers simply cannot help negotiating, because there are so many hot topics for discussion.
At the same time, it was the hysteria of the Democrats that ultimately freed Trump from many factors that previously could restrain him from meeting with the head of the Russian diplomatic department. And now, when the impeachment procedure has already been launched, the president can even act in spite of the democrats, emphasizing that he will make decisions with whom to meet or not to meet.
Another positive circumstance in this vein is the absence in the White House of those high-ranking American officials who were extremely Russophobic and in themselves were an obstacle to normalizing relations with Russia. We are talking, for example, about John Bolton, who was considered an extreme Russophobe even against the background of other American "hawks."
By the way, the topic of Russia's alleged interference in the US election, according to US representatives, was also raised at the meeting. Mike Pompeo says he warned Lavrov against Russian interference in the US election. Interestingly, the Russian Foreign Minister in his memoirs about the meeting with the US Secretary of State broke up and noted that the elections during the meeting with Trump and Pompeo were not discussed.
Thus, someone is “getting dark” and it is possible that it is the American side that is beneficial to declare a warning to the Russian authorities. Such a statement can be designed for internal use in order to reassure the Democrats, for whom the topic of Russian interference in the elections is very painful and at the same time used to put pressure on Trump’s cabinet.
All speculations regarding our alleged interference in US internal processes are unfounded. We did not see any facts that would confirm this. Nobody presented them to us, probably simply because they do not exist,
- noted Lavrov.
By the way, interestingly, Moscow suggested that the American side publish the correspondence between the diplomatic departments of the two states for the period from October 2016 to November 2017. And such openness on the part of Russia is not accidental, although it is quite unprecedented. After all, this step, according to Russian diplomats, would finally remove the suspicions from our country of interference in the US election campaign in 2016.
But the White House refused the offer of the Russian diplomatic department, which testifies to the interest of the American side in further speculations on the issue of interference in the elections. That is, the American establishment is very convenient to use the Russian factor in its undercover games, competition for power and resources.
START-3 in the spotlight
If we talk about the meeting itself, it was quite positive and thorough, but the parties could not agree on such key issues.
One of the most important topics discussed at the meeting was the fate of the START-3 treaty. As you know, the offensive arms reduction treaty expires in February 2021, but it can be extended for another five years, until 2026, if, of course, both parties agree to the extension of the treaty.
Moscow is convinced that START-3 should be extended to avoid a new arms race and exacerbate global tension. The American side is in favor of ending START-3. After the US withdraws from the INF Treaty, it is not surprising that Washington is dreaming of the termination of another important treaty.
The thing is that the American leadership considers START-3, like the INF Treaty, obsolete treaties. Now, China has become an important rival to the United States, and not only in the economic, but also in the military sphere. And just the Celestial Empire, which did not participate in the INF Treaty, is not covered by the action of START-3. It turns out that while Americans and Russians are reducing arms and cannot develop the production of certain types of missiles, China does not have such barriers.
Naturally, the American side insists on including China in the negotiation process to discuss the future of START-3 and conclude a new treaty. This was directly stated by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, stressing that the Communist Party of China should also become one of the participants in the discussion of the agreements.
In addition, the American side focuses on improving new delivery methods. Now they are not limited to missiles, strategic bombers, nuclear submarines. New types of weapons may be used which are not prescribed in the agreement concluded 10 years ago. Accordingly, the world needs to sign a new treaty, according to the United States.
Sergei Lavrov at a meeting with Trump voiced the position of Vladimir Putin, who is convinced of the desirability of extending START-3. At the same time, going to the USA, Lavrov emphasized that the decisive word rests with the American side, since Russia does not object to the extension of START-3. But, as we understand it, the Russians and the Americans failed to come to a common denominator: Trump and Pompeo are still convinced that START-3 has become obsolete, and without China it makes no sense to conclude any new treaties.
We talked about China, Syria and trade with Russia
Trump and Lavrov could not but touch upon such important topics of world politics as Syria, Afghanistan and North Korea. The parties discussed the prospects for the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and containment of North Korean nuclear projects, and discussed the situation in Syria, Afghanistan, and the Gaza Strip. The political situation in Venezuela was also affected, but the American president and Russian diplomat number one have not yet reached any significant results.
They also discussed relations between the United States and China, which, after the Trump-led trade war, noticeably weakened and worsened. At the same time, both parties are convinced that it is necessary to develop trade relations with China, given the importance of this state on a global scale.
The importance of trade with the Celestial Empire was also noted by Trump, who also announced his desire to increase trade with Russia. After the 2014 year, in connection with the events in Ukraine, relations between the United States and Russia deteriorated, which also affected the economic ties between the two states. Under Trump's predecessor, Barack Obama, trade between Russia and the United States after the Ukrainian events fell to the level of 20 billion dollars, but under Trump, the level of trade, despite the sanctions, rose to 27 billion. This fact alone confirms the words of the American president about increasing trade with Russia.
By the way, the Americans themselves admit that the sanctions did not affect more than 90% of Russian-American trade. This is the figure voiced by the former US ambassador to Russia, John Huntsman, noting that thousands of US companies continue to work in Russia, and Russian entrepreneurs, in turn, are developing businesses in the United States, and there are no problems for their activities even now, in conditions bilateral sanctions.
As a practical person who came to politics from business, Donald Trump is well aware that political confrontation is one thing, and economic ties are another. Whatever the political contradictions between the countries, the two largest powers of the world simply cannot cooperate in the economy at all.
A third growth in trade between Russia and the United States is new jobs for both Russians and Americans, new tax revenues to the budgets of both countries, new opportunities for developing and scaling up businesses. Therefore, Trump and adheres to the strategy for the further development of trade relations with the Russian Federation.
It is for this purpose that the two states are going to launch the Business Advisory Council of Russia and the USA. Putin and Trump discussed his project during a meeting in 2018. The council has not yet been formed, but if it is created, then there will be hope for the further development of economic relations between the Russian Federation and the USA.
After all, when the bilateral commission for the development of economic relations, created under the presidents Dmitry Medvedev and Barack Obama, Russia and the United States managed to achieve maximum performance in trade (in 2011, it amounted to 31 billion dollars). Then, due to problems in political relations between the two states, this figure fell, but both in Washington and in Moscow consider it possible to restore it in the foreseeable future.
Summing up the meeting between Trump and Lavrov, it is worth noting that, despite the absence of any epoch-making decisions, in general, the meeting was really important. Most importantly, she emphasized the readiness of the two states for a normal dialogue. Perhaps this is precisely what the American hawks and those who are interested in further escalation of tension between Russia and the United States did not like.
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