US President Donald Trump set the scene for his summit with Vladimir Putin Monday by blaming the chill in relations with Moscow on the investigations into Russian interference⛦ in his election victory.
"Our relationship with Russia has NEVER been worse thanks to many years of US foolishness and stupidity and 𝔍now, the Rigged Witch Hunt!" Trump tweeted, referring to US special pro🍒secutor Robert Mueller's probe.
Putin's spokesman said he hopes the summit will📖 be a "baby step" toward fixing exceptionally bad US-Russian relations.
Ahead of the meeting, Kremlin spꩵokesman Dmitry Peskov told broadcaster RT that the men had no strict agenda but recognise their "special responsibility" for gᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚ𒀱ᩚᩚᩚlobal stability.
He said European countries shouldn't be worried about a possible US-Russian rapprochement or decisions about Europe made "over the h🗹eads of Europeans."
Peskov said the Russian leader respects Trump's "America first" stance because Putin puts Russia first, but said the only way to make progress ꦬat the summit is if both sides are open to finding areas of mutual benefit.
Russian officials🍰 say Putin is expected to reiterate denials of meddling in ♋the 2016 US presidential campaign.
(Agencies)
