According to advisor to US President-elect Donald Trump, Carter Page, he has a number of planned meetings with influential businessmen and thought leaders in Moscow.
Advisor to US President-elect Donald Trump, Carter Page (Photo: RIA Novosti / Anton Denisov)
Advisor to US President-elect Donald Trump, Carter Page, has arrived in Moscow, he has a series of planned talks in the Russian capital, the RIA Novosti news agency reported on Thursday.
“I will meet with influential businessmen and thought leaders,” Page told the news agency.
The Trump’s advisor also added that he would stay in Moscow until December 13.
Later, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said that diplomats do not plan to meet with Carter Page.
Earlier, Page said that the administration of the US President-elect needs people, who believe in potential of Russian-American relations. According to him, dialogue between the countries is impossible without trust in Russian leader Vladimir Putin.
In the past, Carter Page worked in a department of the Merrill Lynch investment bank in Moscow. In July, talking about the trip of the Trump’s advisor to Moscow, US media drew special attention to the fact that in his speech to students and journalists he criticized the US policy toward Russia. At the same time, the US intelligence services confirmed that they keep watch over Page.
I think that Trumps advisor is starting from the wrong end? He will not have any problems finding people who are willing to reset the U.S – Russian relations in Moscow but rather in Washington. Nevertheless I think that it’s a positive initiative in the right direction, and I hope that it’s genuinely honest one.
It’s important to actually have relationships in a foreign country. It allows the U.S. representative to shore up their own convictions, ‘I was in Moscow and I spoke with …’. Lots of conversations start like this when it comes to Israel.
As I said above, I think it’s a positive initiative in the right direction. But for it to be fruitful it must be genuine and a honest one, otherwise it will end up in failure as all the empty talks and numerous deals between Lavrov and Kerry about Syria, that went bust, the very moment Kerry landed in Washington. Even if he was honest (hopefully) he couldn’t deliver, because of the rabid opposition and Russophobia he met in the Obama administration.