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After holding a two-hour meeting behind closed doors at the G20 summit, Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin had a second, “animated” hour-long conversation at dinner with only Putin’s translator, said Ian Bremmer, the president of the world’s largest political risk consultancy firm, Eurasia Group. The White House confirmed the second meeting took place after Brenner sent a note making his clients making them aware of the second meeting, and CNN reported on it. The New York Times confirmed the second meeting, which has no official United States record, took place at a couples-only dinner at the Summit.
Bremmer stated that Trump’s unknown discussion with Putin was a breach of national security protocol since he didn’t have a U.S. translator with him.
Readout from Trump Admin on what was/wasn't discussed in official meeting w Putin useless when there was 1 hour convo off books that eve.
— ian bremmer (@ianbremmer) July 18, 2017
This violation of protocol should raise eyebrows as the White House continues to be consistently breezy in foreign affairs. Typically, someone from the State Department would be taking notes during these types of meetings, but none were present. Bremmer discussed the meeting with Charlie Rose, saying: “Never in my life as a political scientist have I seen two countries, major countries, with a constellation of national interests that are as dissonant while the two leaders seem to be doing everything possible to make nice and be close to each other.”
Democratic Delaware Senator Chris Coons told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer that Trump relying on Putin’s translator was a “basic failure in terms of national security protocol.”
(Via CNN/New York Times/Bloomberg)