- Sputnik International
World
Get the latest news from around the world, live coverage, off-beat stories, features and analysis.

Pentagon Allegedly Taken by Surprise Over Putin-Trump Military Agreements

© AP PhotoThis is an aerial view of the five-sided Pentagon building, headquarters of the United States Department of Defense, in Arlington, Va., in 1975
This is an aerial view of the five-sided Pentagon building, headquarters of the United States Department of Defense, in Arlington, Va., in 1975 - Sputnik International
Subscribe
Under a US law, passed by Congress in light of Crimea’s reunification with Russia, military-to-military cooperation between the United States and Russia is prohibited.

The Pentagon has reportedly been caught off guard after statements made by Moscow suggesting that presidents Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin had reached military agreements during the much-hyped Helsinki summit earlier this week.

READ MORE: Republican Lawmakers Call on White House to Disclose Helsinki Summit Mysteries

Former First Lady of The United States, Democratic presidential candidate and former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, right, in conversation with Laurene Powell Jobs at OZY Fest in Central Park on Saturday, July 21, 2018, in New York - Sputnik International
Hillary Clinton Alleges Putin Knows How to 'Manipulate' People Due to KGB Past
Adding to the growing concerns among high-ranking officials, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis reportedly didn’t attend this week’s Cabinet meeting and preferred to stay out of the spotlight during Trump’s trip to Europe.

Just two days after the summit, Mattis, an outspoken critic of Russia, penned a letter to Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John McCain on Wednesday, urging lawmakers negotiating a 2019 fiscal defense policy bill, to let the State Department waive sanctions on purchases of Russian military equipment by allies and partners.

“As we impose necessary and well-justified costs on Russia for its malign behavior, at the same time there is a compelling need to avoid significant unintended damage to our long-term, national strategic interests,” Bloomberg News cited an excerpt from Mattis’ letter.

Reuters also reported, citing two US officials speaking on condition of anonymity that the Defense Secretary was ready to hold talks with his Russian counterpart Sergei Shoigu – the Pentagon, however, refused to comment. Moreover, it said it had not received any invitation from Russia for negotiations, despite last week’s remarks by Shoigu, suggesting that he had repeatedly invited the Pentagon chief, but had been turned down.

READ MORE: Trump Inviting Putin to White House Is 'Very Good Sign' — Reagan's Adviser

In the meantime, Russia has voiced a readiness to intensify military-to-military contacts with the United States.

“The Russian Defense Ministry is ready for practical implementation of the agreements in the sphere of international security reached by Russian ad US Presidents, Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump, at their Monday’s summit in Helsinki,” the ministry’s spokesman, Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov said.

July 16, 2018. US President Donald Trump during the joint news conference with President of Russia Vladimir Putin following their meeting in Helsinki - Sputnik International
Trump Reportedly Forced to Make U-Turn on Russia After Fury Over Helsinki Summit
During the joint presser in Helsinki, Putin highlighted the “very useful experience of mutual coordination” between the Russian and US military in Syria, as they had “established the operational channels of communication,” which allow them to avoid any accidents and collisions in the air and on the ground. The Russian president stressed that it was essential to “work together further to interact on the disarmament agenda, military, and technical cooperation.”

In 2014, Congress passed the defense authorization bill, suspending military interactions between Washington and Moscow after Crimea’s reunification with Russia. The bill allows the ban to be lifted only when “the Secretary of Defense, in coordination with the Secretary of State, provides a certification to appropriate congressional committees relating to certain actions by Russia.”

The document also authorizes the Pentagon chief to “waive the limitation under certain conditions,” while Congress may impose new sanctions that target contractors from Russian defense companies.

Newsfeed
0
To participate in the discussion
log in or register
loader
Chats
Заголовок открываемого материала