Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin have had four phone calls in the last two weeks as D.C. and the Kremlin try and ease tensions during the coronavirus choas
- Since March 30, President Trump and Vladimir Putin spoke four times over the phone as the coronavirus pandemic rages on
- Their last call came on Easter Sunday before Trump touted that a historic deal had been made between Russia and Saudi Arabia in their oil war
- ‘Reaching out to the United States is part of part of Putin’s long-term plan to basically undermine the credibility of the United States,’ analysts say
- Days after their talks a Russian jet flew within 25 feet of a US surveillance plane during an ‘unsafe’ maneuver at high-speed over the Mediterranean Sea
- Learn more about how to help people impacted by COVID
President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin have been in heavy talks throughout the month as the coronavirus pandemic rages on.
In the two weeks from March 30, the world leaders have spoken four times over the phone, with the most recent call on Easter Sunday.
It’s an unprecented amount of contact for the two presidents, and CNN reports that Trump and Putin discussed the COVID-19 pandemic and the oil market war between Russia and Saudi Arabia.
While they appear to be easing relations between Washington and the Kremlin, political analysts are warning that this is all part of Putin’s plan to undermine the United States.
Since March 30, President Trump and Vladimir Putin spoke four times over the phone as the coronavirus pandemic rages on
‘Reaching out to the United States is part of part of Putin’s long-term plan to basically undermine the credibility of the United States as an important stalwart player in the global system, to undermine our alliances, and then to create as many lasting sources of tension between Donald Trump and his own national security team,’ Andrew Weiss, vice president for studies at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, told CNN.
‘The more that Russia succeeds in doing that, the less pressure Russia itself is likely to face from a unified western camp,’ he added.
After their final talk on Sunday, Donald Trump touted that a historic deal had been reached to stop the oil price war between Russia and Saudi Arabia and help shore up oil prices amid the coronavirus pandemic – thanking Vladimir Putin and Mohammad Bin Salman for working toward the agreement.
‘The big Oil Deal with OPEC Plus is done,’ Trump posted to Twitter Easter Sunday. ‘This will save hundreds of thousands of energy jobs in the United States.’
‘I would like to thank and congratulate President Putin of Russia and King Salman of Saudi Arabia. I just spoke to them from the Oval Office. Great deal for all!’ the president praised.
Their last call came on Easter Sunday before Trump touted that a historic deal had been made between Russia and Saudi Arabia in their oil war
As part of the OPEC+ agreement, Saudi Arabia, Russia, and 21 other countries agreed to collectively reduce oil output by 9.7 million barrels per day between May and June, in a multinational effort to address a drop in global demand caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
Days after their talks a Russian jet flew within 25 feet of a US surveillance plane during an ‘unsafe’ maneuver at high-speed over the Mediterranean Sea.
A Kremlin SU-35 carried out an ‘inverted’ intercept on a US P-8A Poseidon aircraft that lasted 42 minutes on Wednesday, according to the US Navy.
According to the statement one of the Navy’s aircraft was intercepted by the Russian jet while flying in international airspace over the Mediterranean Sea.
It was claimed by the Navy that its aircraft ‘was operating consistent with international law and did not provoke this Russian activity’ when it was approached by the jet.
Days after their talks a Russian jet flew within 25 feet of a US surveillance plane during an ‘unsafe’ maneuver at high-speed over the Mediterranean Sea