2:19
- ABC News
- Donald Trump
- July 17, 2018
European press mocks Trump as 'weak' after summit
Trump faced criticism in many major European newspapers Tuesday.
Other Eastern European officials currently in power, however, played down such fears and said the significance of the summit was being overblown.
\"As #NATO ally we hope to receive US debrief on US-Russia #HelsinkiSummit2018, prior to that I would not rush into any judgment, dialogue that is based on principles is welcome but also details matter a lot,\" Latvia's foreign minister, Edgars Rinkevics, wrote on Twitter.
As #NATO ally we hope to receive US debrief on US-Russia #HelsinkiSummit2018, prior to that I would not rush into any judgment, dialogue that is based on principles is welcome but also details matter a lot
— Edgars Rinkevics (@edgarsrinkevics) July 16, 2018
An ambassador to a Baltic country told ABC News that it had been a “very strange summit in several respects” but that they were relieved there had been no sign of change in the U.S.’s stance on Russia’s occupation of Crimea or on American and NATO troop rotations in the region, which are meant to deter Russia.
\"I think the concern is there that the president might change his mind and do things that might be ill-conceived,\" the ambassador, who requested to speak anonymously because of the sensitivity of the subject.
There was also an expression of support for Trump from Italy’s populist government that was recently elected on a Trump-style platform based around attacks on the European Union and hardline anti-migrant rhetoric.
Matteo Salvini, Italy’s interior minister, leader of the far-right League party and a vocal Putin supporter, was in Moscow on the day of the summit, meeting with Russian officials. In a Twitter post, Salvini wrote he wanted to host Putin and Trump next.
\"I would like the next summit to take place in Italy, to talk with strength and courage about security, peace, work and economic growth. Good job Presidents!” Salvini wrote in Italian.
For their part, Russian officials and Russian state media praised Putin as having opened a possible new chapter in U.S.-Russia relations. Russia’s foreign minister Sergey Lavrov described the summit to state news agency Ria Novosti as \"better than super.\"
But notably, Russian media were more subdued in their support of the summit, instead praising it for going smoothly and without upset even if it lacked much substance. It was a far cry from the intensity of sentiment in the U.S., where media organizations have covered the uproar unleashed by Trump’s comments.
Many Russian commentators also expressed skepticism that Trump would now be able to follow through with his pledges for greater cooperation with Russia, given the hostility he faces at home.
ABC News' Tara Palmeri and Kaelyn Forde contributed to this report.
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