Trump doesn't view Anchorage meeting as concession to Putin – Rubio
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said that the planned talks between President Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin in the White House are not perceived as concessions to the Russian dictator, but as a clarification of positions, the State Department website has reported.
"People have to understand – for President Trump, a meeting is not a concession. If you watch some of the news – I don’t watch a lot of it anymore – but you watch it, and these people are going nuts. Oh, this is – what a win for a Putin; he gets a meeting. He doesn’t view it that way. A meeting is what you do to kind of figure out and make your decision. I want to have all the facts. I want to look this guy in the eye. And that’s what the President wants to do. So honestly, I think we’re going to know very early in that meeting whether this thing has any chance of success or not.
“The President is an extraordinary dealmaker. Look, I didn’t know him before he ran for President. I mean, I knew he was, obviously, but I’ve gotten to work very closely with him here over the last six months and even my first – his first four years in office when I was in the Senate. He’s an amazing negotiator. I’m not just saying this because – I mean, he really, truly is. He has a tremendous instinct for deciphering human nature, so understanding how to navigate these things. And I do think – I’ve seen it be very successful in these trade deals when he comes in and closes them, and they’re always in person. It’s hard to do that on the phone. So I think that’s what Friday is going to be about, and we’ll have a better sense of it. It’s not going to be easy. This war means a lot to Putin. I mean, the last month, the Russians lost – I think in July they lost 60,000 Russians – not lost like missing in action – like dead," Rubio told radio talkshow host Sid Rosenberg of Sid and Friends in the Morning.
He emphasized that he would call the planned summit "a meeting to clarify positions." Rubio added that sooner or later everyone will find out whether this approach had a chance of success.
