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Trump side-eyes Putin and Saudi crown prince linked to
Khashoggi murder and snubs them both – but the pair greet each
other with HIGH-FIVES during ‘family photo’ at G20 summit
- President Trump walked past Russian
President Vladimir Putin and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman
as he joined world leaders for their ‘family’ photo - He did not speak to either
man - Trump cancelled his scheduled meeting
with Putin - He said he’d be willing to meet the
prince but it wasn’t on his schedule - The family photo is when all G20 leaders
gather for a group picture - Afterward they went to a luncheon where
Trump sat next to British Prime Minister Theresa May - Putin and MBS greeted each other with
high fives at the luncheon - Both men are in international scandals of
their own making
President Donald Trump side eyed Russian
President Vladimir Putin and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman
as he joined world leaders for their ‘family’ photo
The Saudi prince and Putin exchanged high
fives when they greeted each other at lunch
A White House official said the president
and the prince did ‘exchange pleasantries’ when the leaders met
after they had their photo taken
Trump’s diplomatic discretion
comes amid questions about will he or won’t he meet with either
leader – both of whom are in international scandals of their own
making.
A White House official said the
president and the prince did ‘exchange pleasantries’ when the
leaders met after they had their photo taken.
‘They exchanged pleasantries at the
leaders session as he did with nearly every leader in attendance,’
a senior White House official said on background.
But the president said the two did
not talk. ‘We had no discussion. We might, but we had none,’ he
said.
He’s met with autocrats before but
he’s faced criticism for his willingness to speak with Putin and
the prince at the summit, which comes as the president faces
political problems back home in the wake of a new guilty plea from
his former personal attorney Michael Cohen.
Trump cancelled his meeting with
Putin on his way down to Buenos Aires. Before he arrived in
Argentina, he said he’d be willing to talk with the prince if it
was on his schedule yet he didn’t acknowledge him Friday.
Putin and MBS – the crown prince is
known by his initials – are in the international dog
house: Putin for Russia’s seizure of three Ukrainian vessels;
MBS for ordering the murder of Washington Post journalist Jamal
Khashoggi.
The two men were seated next to one
another at the luncheon following the leaders’ ‘family’ photo.
That’s where their high-five took
place, happening as Trump is seen entering the lunch behind
them.
The warm welcome comes
as Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said this afternoon that a
visit by President Putin to Saudi Arabia is being prepared,
although the timing of visit has not yet been finalized.
Trump stood between French President
Emanuel Macron and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe
At a meeting with Japanese Prime
Minister Shinzo Abe and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Trump
denied he spoke to the saudi prince
It comes as Salman – who had been
courting western leaders with promises of human rights reforms in
Saudi Arabia – was grilled by the likes of French President
Emmanuel Macron over Kashoggi’s murder in Istanbul.
The journalist was murdered by a hit
squad in Istanbul on October 2. Saudi authorities have denied
Prince Mohammed ordered the hit but the CIA is said to be claiming
that the order came from the top.
Earlier, Putin used a speech to the
summit to denounce Western nations’ ‘vicious’ use of sanctions
against Russia over Ukraine, election interference and the
poisoning of Sergei Skripal in England.
The speech was also a veiled swipe at
PresidentTrump, who advocates an ‘America First’ policy on trade
and cancelled his scheduled sit down with his Russian
counterpart.
‘One cannot help but see a dishonest
competition increasingly taking the place of honest dialogue based
on equality among states,’ Putin told leaders of emerging economies
as the summit opened in Buenos Aires.
‘A vicious practice of returning to
illegal, unilateral sanctions and protectionist measures is
spreading, going around the UN Charter, the rules of the WTO and
internationally recognized legal norms,’ Putin said.
G20 leaders pose for their family photo a
tradition at every summit
The Saudi prince and Putin are both in
international scandals of their own making
Putin said that the result was ‘an
extremely negative effect on the spirit of international
cooperation,’ discouraging business.
His slamming of Trump comes as the
Kremlin told Reuters the president will speak with the Russian
leader after all – a story the White House scrambled to
denounce.
And Russian Foreign Minister
Sergey Lavrov weighed in.
‘I doubt that this move will be
conducive to the resolution of a whole host of important
international problems. But love can’t be forced, of course,’
Lavrov said in an interview with Russian state TV, according to the
Interfax news agency.
White House press secretary Sarah
Huckabee Sanders also used the opportunity to slam special counsel
Robert Mueller and his investigation for undermining U.S.-Russian
relations but claimed President Trump nixed the Putin meeting over
Ukraine.
She made the notable attack on the
special counsel amid speculation that the president pulled out of
his planned meeting with Putin in part due to blowback from the
stunning guilty plea by his former lawyer Michael Cohen to an
additional charge.
Putin and MBS get in place for the ‘family’
photo
Trump told reporters during a meeting with
Japanese PM Abe that he cancelled the meeting with Putin over
Russia’s seizure of Ukrainian ships
The prince faces condemnation for his role
in the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi’s
‘The Russian Witch Hunt Hoax, which
is hopefully now nearing an end, is doing very well. Unfortunately,
it probably does undermine our relationship with Russia[1]. However, the reason for
our canceled meeting is Ukraine[2]. Hopefully, that will be
resolved soon so that productive conversations can begin,’ Sanders
said.
And a White House official confirmed
there will be no ‘pull aside’ – State Department term for informal,
unscheduled talks between world leaders that can happen at summits
– between Trump and Putin.
But there will be plenty of
opportunities for the two men to bump into each other over the next
two days, including Friday night’s cultural event and dinner for
leaders at the Teatro Colon.
The president, during a bilateral
meeting Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, told the press his
meeting with Putin was cancelled because of Russia’s actions
against the Ukraine.
‘We don’t like what happened. We
don’t like that,’ he said, adding ‘the basis with what took place
in respect to the ships… that is the sole reason’ for the
cancellation.
The president, thus far, has stood
firm in ignoring the controversial world leaders
Trump stood between French President
Emanuel Macron and Abe for the ‘family’ photo, which lasted about
five minutes.
The president was one of the last
leaders to come on stage to take his spot in the lineup, minimizing
the opportunity leaders had to speak with him.
He walked past MBS and Putin to
take his spot in the line up.
While he waited for the cue from the
cameras, Trump chatted with Abe, with whom he has a close
relationship.
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