President Trump denied discussing American sanctions against Russia during his meeting with Vladimir Putin at the G-20 summit in Hamburg, Germany, last week.
“Sanctions were not discussed at my meeting with President Putin. Nothing will be done until the Ukrainian & Syrian problems are solved!” Trump tweeted Sunday.
Sanctions were not discussed at my meeting with President Putin. Nothing will be done until the Ukrainian & Syrian problems are solved!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 9, 2017
Some Democrats speculated the meeting between Putin and Trump would be an opportunity for the Russian president to press Trump to repeal some of the sanctions imposed by President Barack Obama following the 2016 election. The sanctions were imposed as punishment for Russian meddling in the 2016 election, which Putin denied to Trump.
However, the American intelligence community believes Russia interfered in the election — first to hurt Hillary Clinton’s campaign and eventually developing a preference for Trump.
Congress has also imposed sanctions on Russia for its seizure of Crimea and interference in Ukrainian affairs, namely backing pro-Kremlin forces in the country’s civil war.
Trump and Putin also negotiated a cease-fire in Syria as a part of their meeting in Hamburg, which Trump touted in an earlier set of tweets Sunday.
