Trump open to lifting Russia sanctions, "most likely" to meet Kim Jong Un again
President Trump on Monday said he would consider lifting sanctions on Russia if Moscow were to take steps towards working with the U.S. on issues like Russia and Ukraine. Mr. Trump made the comments in an interview with Reuters.
It's yet unclear exactly what kind of steps Mr. Trump would require to ease such sanctions. Mr. Trump insists he has been tougher on Russia than any other president, despite the laudatory way he speaks of his summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Mr. Trump also said he is "most likely" to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un again, after their summit in Singapore.
"I stopped (North Korea's) nuclear testing. I stopped (North Korea's) missile testing. Japan is thrilled. What's going to happen? Who knows? We're going to see," he said, adding about Kim, "I like him. He likes me."
Regarding matters elsewhere abroad, the president told Reuters he originally thought he had a deal with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to release American pastor Andrew Brunson, who is still under house arrest. Brunson has been held by the Turkish government for nearly two years. Mr. Trump said "there will be no concessions" with Turkey. The president also told Reuters he wasn't concerned that U.S. tariffs on Turkey — tariffs the U.S. has said are related not to Brunson's situation but to currency — could negatively affect the European economy.
Also on trade, Mr. Trump said he doesn't expect a deal to end the trade dispute during talks between the U.S. and China this month. The president also said he has "no time frame" for reaching such a deal, as the U.S. and China continue to slap tariffs on each other. In March, the president claimed trade wars are, "good, and easy to win."
"I think China's manipulating their currency, absolutely. And I think the euro is being manipulated also," he told Reuters.
Mr. Trump, who said he would meet with Iran's president without any preconditions, told Reuters that if Iran President Hassan Rouhani wants to meet with him, fine. But if that doesn't work out, "I could not care less," said Mr. Trump, who also said there has been no outreach to Iran over possible talks.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
