UN Rights Chief Calls for Talks on Venezuela Crisis

CARACAS, LELEMUKU.COM - U.N. rights chief Michelle Bachelet has called for talks to defuse the situation in Venezuela, saying that it “may rapidly spiral out of control with catastrophic consequences.”

Bachelet also called for an independent investigation into reports that Venezuelan security forces had killed 20 people and detained more than 350 in protests this week.

United States President Donald Trump bluntly warned Maduro Thursday that “all options are on the table” if there is not a peaceful transition to democracy in the South American country.

Severing diplomatic ties

On Wednesday, Venezuela’s disputed president Nicolas Maduro said he was ending diplomatic relations with the United States in response to Trump’s announcement that the U.S. was officially recognizing National Assembly President Juan Guaido as Venezuela’s interim leader, as Guaido declared himself interim president during a day of mass demonstrations.

Maduro ordered U.S. diplomats to leave within 72 hours. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, however, said Maduro no longer has the authority to issue orders.

Thursday, 16 of the 34 nations in the Organization of American States (OAS) recognized Guaido, the opposition head of the National Assembly, as the interim president of Venezuela at an emergency session.

Pompeo urged members to oppose the “illegitimate” Maduro and pledged to make $20 million available for humanitarian assistance to Venezuela.

“All OAS member states must align themselves with democracy and respect for the rule of law,” the top U.S. diplomat said.

Meanwhile, the State Department ordered non-emergency personnel to leave Venezuela, but is not closing its embassy in Caracas.

The department said it was ordering the evacuating for security reasons, and that U.S. citizens should “strongly consider” leaving the country.

More sanctions possible

White House officials emphasized that Trump is not ruling out any response, such as a naval blockade or other military action, if Maduro unleashes violence against protesters or takes action against Guaido.

The most immediate action by Washington likely would be enhanced sanctions against members of Maduro’s government.

“In our sanctions, we’ve barely scratched the surface on what actions the United States can take,” said a senior administration official.

Several nations have joined the U.S. in recognizing Guaido as Venezuela’s interim president, including Canada and 11 of the 14 members of the newly formed Lima Group of Latin nations, among them Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Guatemala and Peru.

French President Emmanuel Macron called Venezuela’s elections “illegitimate” in a Tweet on Thursday, and saluted the bravery of Venezuelans demanding freedom.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned Thursday the situation in Venezuela could descend into “disaster” if the country’s main political rivals fail to reach an agreement.

Speaking Thursday at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Guterres said the U.N. hopes “dialogue can be possible, and that we avoid an escalation that would lead to the kind of conflict that would be a disaster” for the people of Venezuela and the region.

Warnings from Russia, China

But officials in Russia, one of Venezuela’s biggest allies, reacted with anger Thursday at the United States and other Western nations for backing Guaido, accusing them of interfering in its internal affairs. Russia’s Foreign Ministry warned the United States against any military intervention, saying such a move would have “catastrophic” consequences.

China urged the United States to stay out of the crisis. Beijing and Moscow have extensive economic interests, having loaned Caracas billions of dollars.

Bolivia, Cuba, Iran and Syria also have issued statements throwing their support behind Maduro.

The three member nations of the Lima Group that have not supported Guaido are Guyana, Saint Lucia and Mexico.

“From a constitutional, humanitarian, and democratic perspective — and according to international law — there was no option left for the United States and the international community but to recognize Juan Guaido as the interim president of Venezuela,” Moises Rendon, associate director and associate fellow of the CSIS Americas Program, told VOA.

Venezuela and its state-owned oil company, PDVSA, are estimated to owe $7 billion on a combined trade debt of about $60 billion. The country’s oil-based economy, which is wracked by hyperinflation, has collapsed. (VOA)

US Syrian Pullout Pushes Syrian Kurds Toward Damascus

DAMASCUS, LELEMUKU.COM- Talks between Syrian Kurdish forces and Damascus are seen as the latest repercussion from Washington’s decision to pull troops out of Syria. The talks could force Ankara to end its freeze in diplomatic relations with Damascus. Both developments are key objectives of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Putin on Wednesday praised the Syrian Kurdish group, the PYD,for "establishing a dialogue between Damascus and representatives of the Kurds.”

Moscow has been lobbying the PYD and its military wing, the YPG, to sit down with Damascus in a bid to pry away the Kurdish groups from Washington's influence.

Earlier this month, White House national security adviser John Bolton appealed to the YPG to refrain from dialogue with Damascus. "I think they know who their friends are," Bolton said, referring to the Kurds.

The YPG's allies in the U.S.-led war against Islamic State had largely resisted Moscow’s overtures. With American military backing, the Kurdish militia had taken control of a broad swath of Syria. However, U.S. President Donald Trump’s December decision to withdraw troops from Syria is seen as forcing the Kurdish militia to turn to Damascus.

“It’s the main driver, Washington's decision to withdraw its military presence. It pushed the YPG or PYD to direct talks with Damascus,” said former senior Turkish diplomat Aydin Selcen.

“We also see press reports one of the top YPG commanders flew to Moscow for talks,” he added. “The decision by the U.S. to withdraw has changed the whole ball game. All [Syrian President Bashar] al-Assad has to do is to wait for the U.S. to leave for the YPG to fall into his lap.”

With as much as one-fifth of Syrian territory under Syrian militia control, Damascus will be accommodating to Syrian Kurdish groups, according to international relations professor Huseyin Bagci of Ankara’s Middle East Technical University.

“At the moment the Syrians have learned lessons from the past, of how counterproductive it is to crack down on the Kurds,” said Bagci. “They will negotiate with the Kurds. The Russians are also there, putting the Syrian regime and the Kurds together. I think Turkey will be excluded.”

Ankara considers the YPG and PYD terrorist organizations as linked to an insurgency inside Turkey.Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is threatening to launch a military strike against YPG-controlled Syrian territory bordering Turkey. Turkish forces remain massed along the frontier.

Analysts say a deal between the YPG and Damascus could thwart a military strike. Putin appeared to make a gesture to Erdogan, though, at a joint press conference Wednesday after talks in Moscow. The Russian president claimed a 1998 Syrian-Turkish counterterrorism agreement was still active.

Adana agreement

The so-called Adana agreementallows Turkish counterterrorism operations in Syria against the Kurdish rebel group PKK, which has been waging a decades-long war against Turkey. Ankara claims the YPG and PYD are affiliated with the PKK.

“It's definitely a gesture by Putin. Many people will be surprised he [Putin] mentioned this,” said Selcen. The catch for Ankara is that for the Adana agreement to work, it requires Turkey to restore diplomatic relations with Damascus.

“Putin is playing chess with Turkey, trying to get Ankara to start talking with Assad,” said Bagci. Moscow is working to end Damascus’ diplomatic isolation.

Erdogan severed ties with Syria at the start of the Syrian civil war and vowed diplomatic relations would not be restored while Assad remained in power. With Putin resurrecting the Adana agreement, however, that could facilitate a softening in Ankara’s stance.

“Definitely for Adana to work, you need diplomatic ties,” said Aydin. “Turkish Foreign Minister [Mevlut] Cavusoglu indicated there is indirect contact with Damascus and Ankara, and it may now realize it's high time to get in touch with Damascus directly. However, the problem is [that] in diplomacy, one should not paint oneself into a corner, and I am afraid Ankara did this with Syria.”

Erdogan has heavily played the anti-Assad card in domestic politics to whip up his conservative Islamic base, which strongly backs the Syrian rebel opposition.

“Sooner or later, Turkey will have to have talks with Bashar al-Assad, but the problem is how to convince the Turkish public,” said Bagci. “But Erdogan is a very pragmatic man. He can do this. He can say, 'Yesterday it was like this, but today we have changed our minds. Let us look to the future, and we can have economic and security gains,' and no one will oppose.”

Complicating matters for Erdogan: In March there are key local elections across Turkey. In addition, restoring relations with Damascus could put Ankara on a collision course with Washington, which continues to lobby for Syria’s isolation.

“To restart negotiations with Damascus is a difficult political step [for Turkey],” said Selcen.

“But the clock is ticking for Turkey, because the UAE, Saudi Arabia, are going back to Damascus, along with the Arab League, so that Turkey could find itself out of step. But Mr. Erdogan is a popular leader. Perhaps Erdogan might wait and see how his party does in March’s local elections, and perhaps we could see a thaw in relations with Syria." (VOA)

Giuliani Fears His Tombstone Will Say, 'He Lied for Trump'

WASHINGTON, LELEMUKU.COM - Rudy Giuliani, the always colorful and outspoken lawyer for U.S. President Donald Trump, says he is afraid his tombstone some day will say, "Rudy Giuliani: He Lied for Trump."

"I don't think that will be it," Giuliani told The New Yorker magazine in an interview. "But, if it is, so what do I care? I'll be dead."

Giuliani's flip remarks about his gravestone came as the former New York mayor is again embroiled in controversy over comments he made about Trump's links to Russia during the 2016 U.S. presidential campaign.

Giuliani on Sunday told NBC's Meet the Press that Trump's discussions with Russian officials over construction of a Trump Tower in Moscow went on throughout the time he was campaigning for the White House leading up to the November election, months longer than previously acknowledged. The timeline was also at odds with then-candidate Trump telling voters three years ago that he was not doing any business in Russia.

“It's our understanding that they went on throughout 2016," Giuliani said of discussions former Trump personal attorney Michael Cohen had with Russian officials, adding that there "weren't a lot of them, but there were conversations. Can't be sure of the exact date."

Backtracking

By Monday, Giuliani sought to walk back his remarks.

"My recent statements about discussions during the 2016 campaign between Michael Cohen and then-candidate Donald Trump about a potential Trump Moscow ‘project’ were hypothetical and not based on conversations I had with the president," Giuliani said. "My comments did not represent the actual timing or circumstances of any such discussions."

Giuliani added, "The point is that the proposal was in the earliest stage and did not advance beyond a free non-binding letter of intent."

Cohen has pleaded guilty to lying to Congress about Trump's Moscow business deal, telling a congressional committee discussions ended in January 2016, to comport with what Trump was telling voters as he sought the Republican presidential nomination three years ago. But the New York lawyer more recently said he thought the talks about a Moscow Trump Tower ended in June 2016. (VOA)

6 Remain Missing After Black Sea Ship Fire,At least 14 Died

MOSCOW, LELEMUKU.COM - Ambulance crews on the Crimean Peninsula transported a dozen survivors of a ship fire to hospitals on Tuesday while six of their crewmates have remained missing in the Black Sea. At least 14 sailors died in the tragedy.

Two Tanzanian-flagged tankers caught fire Monday while liquefied petroleum gas was being pumped from one tanker to another. The blaze spread quickly, prompting the crews to jump overboard. The ships were about 30 kilometers (15 nautical miles) off the Crimean coast when the fire started.

Russian authorities said 12 of 32 crew members were rescued Monday in a salvage effort complicated by rough seas. Sea temperatures of about 10 C (50 F) made it hard for the crew to hold out for long.

Emergency officials said they recovered 11 bodies from the water and saw another three dead but failed to recover them.

Strong winds prevented a quick transfer of survivors ashore, but on Tuesday they were finally taken to hospitals in Crimea, which Russia annexed from Ukraine in 2014.

The two vessels crews consisted of Turkish and Indian citizens.

The ships have continued burning.

Russian media reports said both tankers, the Maestro and the Candy, belonged to a Turkish company, Milenyum Denizcilik Gemi. It was sanctioned by the U.S. in 2015 for fuel deliveries to Syria.

The U.S. have also placed both vessels on its sanctions lists, making any company that deals with them subject to penalties — restrictions that might explain the ship-to-ship fuel transfer at sea.

Russian shipping registers indicate, however, that both tankers have made repeated calls at Russian ports recently. The Maestro sailed out of the Russian port of Temryuk on Sunday, and another vessel last called there last month. (VOA)

Russian Lawyer: Suspected US Spy, Paul Whelan Had Classified Material on Him

MOSCOW, LELEMUKU.COM - The lawyer for an American man being held in Moscow on suspicion of spying said on Tuesday that his client was given a flash drive containing Russian “state secrets” before he was arrested, but did not know he had them and had not looked at them.

His family insisted that he was entrapped and denied that he is guilty of espionage.

Paul Whelan, a former U.S. Marine, was detained in Moscow at the end of December. The arrest raised speculation that he could be swapped for one of the Russians held in the U.S., such as gun rights activist Maria Butina, who has pleaded guilty to acting as a foreign agent in the U.S.

Whelan made his first public appearance in court on Tuesday to hear the appeal of his arrest. The judge upheld the previous ruling that ordered him to be kept behind bars at least until the end of February.

Whelan was kept in a glass cage and did not speak to reporters.

Spying charges carry a prison sentence of up to 20 years in Russia.

Whelan's lawyer, Vladimir Zherebenkov, said Tuesday that when his client was detained at a Moscow hotel at the end of December he had something with him that contained “state secrets.”

The lawyer said that Whelan was a frequent visitor to Russia and that he asked an unnamed person to email him something about travel around the country. Whelan reportedly was not able to download it and then asked that person to put it on a flash-drive.

“He was expecting to see on the flash drive some personal information like pictures or videos, something like that, about that person's previous trips around Russia,” Zherebenkov told reporters. “We don't know how the materials that contain state secrets ended up there.”

The lawyer said the American was detained before he could open the files. He added that it was not clear what has happened to the person who reportedly gave the flash drive to Whelan.

Zherebenkov said the investigators have not yet disclosed which country he is accused of spying for.

Paul Whelan's twin brother, David, said in a statement that the family was disappointed but hardly surprised by the denial of bail.

“While we still lack any details from the Russian government about why Paul is thought to be a spy, and who provided him with the alleged state secrets, we are certain that he was entrapped and is not guilty of espionage,” he said in a statement. “We have not had any information about a USB drive, what was on it, or how it might have materialized in Paul's possession.”

“Unfortunately, today's ruling merely confirms that Paul will remain wrongfully detained for many more months,” Whelan's brother said, adding that “Paul was able to let us know that he is worried about some health conditions and his ability to communicate with prison medical staff.”

He added that his brother is “also concerned about translator support and his ability to present his defense in English.”

David Whelan noted that the Russian authorities' refusal to allow British diplomats to visit his brother in prison and the cancellation of a U.S. consular visit last week raised additional concerns, but said that Canadian diplomats were scheduled to visit Thursday.

Whelan holds U.S., Canadian, British and Irish citizenships.

Whelan, 48, was discharged from the Marines for bad conduct. He works as the global security director for a U.S. automobile parts manufacturer and lives in Michigan. His family has said he was in Moscow to attend a wedding. (VOA)

Russia: 2 Ships Catch Fire in Black Sea, 10 Sailors Dead

MOSCOW, LELEMUKU.COM - Two Tanzanian-flagged commercial vessels caught fire in the Black Sea, leaving at least 10 sailors dead, Russian officials said Monday. Seven sailors were missing.

The Federal Agency for the Sea and River Transport said the fire erupted while fuel was being pumped from one tanker to another. The blaze also spread from one ship to the other, prompting the crews to jump overboard, according to Russian news agencies.

The news agencies quoted the federal maritime agency as saying the two vessels had 31 crew members combined who are citizens of Turkey and India.

Salvage teams have rescued 14 crew members and recovered 10 bodies, the maritime agency said, adding that a search for the seven missing sailors is underway.

The Russian navy has joined the rescue operation, deploying two of its ships.

The fire erupted while the two vessels, the Maestro and the Candy, were anchored near the Kerch Strait linking the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov. (VOA)

Russian Media Watchdog, Roskomnadzor Moves Against Facebook and Twitter

MOSCOW, LELEMUKU.COM - Russia's communication watchdog, Roskomnadzor, opened "administrative proceedings" Monday against Facebook and Twitter for non-compliance with country’s data laws, Interfax news agency reported.

Roskomnadzor head Alexander Zharov is quoted as saying that U.S. social media giants have a month to comply or face legal proceedings.

According to Roskomnadzor, Facebook and Twitter have not explained how and when they would comply with legislation that requires all servers used to store Russians' personal data to be located in Russia.

Russia has introduced stricter internet laws in the past five years, among other things requiring search engines to share encryption keys with Russian security services.

In April last year, thousands rallied in Moscow in support of internet freedom after Russian authorities attempted to block access to the popular messaging app Telegram.

Telegram had refused to give state intelligence services access to private conversations which are usually encrypted. (VOA)

EU Sanctions Russians, Syrians Over Use of Chemical Weapons

BRUSSELS, LELEMUKU.COM - The European Union has imposed chemical weapons sanctions on nine Russian and Syrian officials, including the chief of Russia’s GRU military intelligence agency.

The European Union accuses those sanctioned of being responsible for chemical weapons attacks in Syria and for "possession, transport and use" of the nerve agent used in poisoning Russian double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter last year in Britain.

Russia has denied charges it was behind the nerve agent attack on the Skripals. (VOA)

Zimbabwe President, Emmerson Mnangagwa Ends Foreign Tour After Protests

MOSCOW, LELEMUKU.COM - Zimbabwe President Emmerson Mnangagwa broke off a foreign tour on Sunday as criticism grew over a brutal crackdown on protests at home, saying he wanted "to get Zimbabwe calm, stable and working again."

"In light of the economic situation, I will be returning home after a highly productive week of bilateral trade and investment meetings," he said on Twitter, scrapping plans to attend the Davos summit this week.

"We will be ably represented in Davos by Minister of Finance, Mthuli Ncube. The first priority is to get Zimbabwe calm, stable and working again."

The crackdown has underlined fears of a return to the violent repression of Robert Mugabe, who was ousted from power by the military 14 months ago.

At least 12 people have been killed and 78 treated for gunshot injuries over the last week, according to the Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum, which has recorded more than 240 incidents of assault and torture.

The U.N. has fiercely criticized the government reaction to the protests as allegations mount of shootings, beatings and abductions of opposition figures, activists and ordinary residents.

Mnangagwa, who is seeking much-needed foreign investment, was in Kazakhstan on Sunday after starting his tour in Russia last Monday. (VOA)

Moscow 'Trump Tower' Talks Lasted Through 2016, Lawyer Says

WASHINGTON, LELEMUKU.COM - U.S. President Donald Trump's personal attorney Rudy Giuliani says Trump's discussions with Russian officials over construction of a Trump Tower in Moscow went on throughout the time he was campaigning for the White House in 2016, months longer than previously acknowledged.

“It's our understanding that they went on throughout 2016," Giuliani told NBC's Meet the Press. Giuliani said there "weren't a lot of them, but there were conversations. Can't be sure of the exact date."

"Probably could be up to as far as October, November — our answers cover until the election," Giuliani said, referring to written questions Trump has answered from special counsel Robert Mueller, who for 20 months has been investigating Trump campaign ties to Russia and whether Trump, as president, obstructed justice by trying to thwart the probe.

"So anytime during that period they could've talked about it," Giuliani said. "But the president's recollection of it is that the thing had petered out (subsided) quite a bit,” and the construction project never materialized. During the early stages of the 2016 race for the Republican presidential nomination, Trump often said he had no business ties to Russia.

Giuliani, a former New York mayor, said that Michael Cohen, Trump's former personal attorney, "would have a much better recollection of [the Moscow negotiations] than the president. It was much more important to him. That was his sole mission. The president was running for president of the United States. So you have to expect there's not going to be a great deal of concentration on a project that never went anywhere."

‘Big news’

Virginia Sen. Mark Warner, the lead Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee that has been investigating Trump campaign ties to Russia, said on the NBC show the length of Trump's efforts to build a Moscow skyscraper, extending into the November 2016 national election, was "news to me, and that is big news. Why, two years after the fact, are we just learning this fact now when there’s been this much inquiry?”

Warner added, “I would think most voters — Democrat, Republican, independent, you name it — that knowing the Republican nominee was actively trying to do business in Moscow, that the Republican nominee at least at one point had offered, if he built this building, Vladimir Putin, a free-penthouse apartment, and if those negotiations were ongoing up until the election, I think that’s a relevant fact for voters to know. And I think it’s remarkable we are two years after the fact and just discovering it today.”

Cohen has pleaded guilty to, among other offenses, lying to Congress about the extent of Trump's involvement with the Moscow project, telling a congressional panel that Trump's efforts ended in January 2016, just as the Republican presidential nominating contests were starting three years ago. He has said he lied to comport with Trump's own public comments to voters, but more recently has said he recalls the Moscow discussions extending to June 2016, a shorter time frame than Giuliani acknowledged Sunday.

The online news site BuzzFeed said last week that Trump had directed Cohen to lie to Congress about the Trump Moscow timeline, but Mueller's office late Friday said the report was "not accurate." BuzzFeed said it continues to stand by the story.

In a separate interview on CNN, Giuliani said he had "no knowledge" of whether Trump talked to Cohen before his congressional testimony.

Mueller is believed to be writing a report on his findings from his lengthy investigation. He and other federal prosecutors have secured convictions or guilty pleas from several key figures in Trump's orbit, including former campaign chairman Paul Manafort, campaign aide Rick Gates, former national security adviser Michael Flynn, former foreign affairs adviser George Papadopoulos and Cohen. (VOA)

Alexander Lukashenko's Remarks Upstage Sensitive Kremlin Talks

MOSCOW, LELEMUKU.COM - Less than a day before arriving in Moscow to salvage frayed ties with his Russian counterpart, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said he no longer considers Russia a "brotherly nation."

According to a television broadcast by Belsat, a Belarus-focused satellite channel headquartered in Warsaw, Poland, Lukashenko told a Monday Cabinet session that he no longer considered Minsk's longtime regional ally a fraternal state "because I was informed that Russia is not receptive to it."

News of Lukashenko's comments, which were prompted by Russia's refusal to provide financial compensation for changes to recently implemented export fees, filtered into the Kremlin midday Tuesday, just hours before he was set to head into a closed door meeting with President Vladimir Putin to discuss a range of topics aimed at improving bilateral cooperation.

Less than an hour before the high-level talks kicked off - their 12th face-to-face meeting this year - Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov countered Lukashenko's comments by declaring a "loss of trust lately" with Moscow's closest historical ally.

"We don't trust the work of your customs," Siluanov was quoted as telling an informal press gaggle in the Kremlin.

Bilateral ties faltered after Russia's 2014 annexation of Crimea, which Lukashenko called "a bad precedent," likely because the small former Soviet republic, which does not being to the European Union or NATO, is economically dependent on Moscow for trade, natural gas and other natural resources.

Diplomatic relations have been further strained by accusations of what Belarus calls artificially inflated taxes on oil and gas, while Russia has repeatedly expressed concerns about customs violations.

Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan have a duty-free arrangement under which Moscow sends crude and oil products to Minsk with no export fee. Belarus then re-exports some of those goods, pocketing the associated charges.

Russia has used cheap energy exports and loans to Belarus as a way of keeping its former Soviet neighbor in Moscow's geopolitical orbit, but the arrangement has become harder to sustain as Russia's budget tightens, partially as a result of Western sanctions.

Russia also has accused Belarus of skimming payments on Russian duties by exporting gasoline and other oil products under the guise of aftermarket oil-based products, such as solvents and commercial chemicals.

Russia unexpectedly refused a request from Belarus for $310 million in compensation from a 2018 change in Russian oil taxes, Belarus's deputy prime minister, Igor Lyashenko, told Reuters last week.

The Russian government in June approved changes in oil taxes that will see oil export duties being gradually cut over the next six years; but, as a result, Belarus believes it could lose $10.8 billion by 2024.

Finance Minister Siluanov said Russia never promised any compensation to Belarus over the tax changes.

"We consider such changes, including the tax maneuver in the oil and gas sector, as an internal matter of the Russian Federation," he said.

According to The Moscow Times, the ongoing tensions didn't stop the men from shaking hands before Tuesday's meeting, where Lukashenko called on Putin to "not to drag old disputes into the new year."

"Overall, I believe our relations have been developing quite well," Putin said upon opening the meeting, according to an official Kremlin press statement.

"Of course there are some problems, which is natural given the scope of our interaction," Putin added, saying that both sides had come well prepared to address the most pressing issue - energy relations. "I suggest we listen to both sides even if we fail to reach any agreement," he said. (VOA/Reuters)

Vladimir Putin Doesn't Feel Snubbed by Donald Trump Canceling Talks

MOSCOW, LELEMUKU.COM - The Kremlin says President Donald Trump's refusal to have a full-fledged meeting with President Vladimir Putin hasn't ruffled the Russian leader.

The two leaders had been scheduled to have talks on the sidelines of last week's Group of 20 summit in Buenos Aires, but Trump abruptly canceled the encounter over the Russian seizure of three Ukrainian naval vessels and their crews.

Putin's foreign affairs adviser, Yuri Ushakov, said the Russian leader didn't feel insulted, but added that the Kremlin regrets the cancellation in view of numerous issues that require discussion.

He told reporters Tuesday that Putin and Trump spoke informally for about 10-15 minutes during a G-20 dinner, discussing the naval incident and the situation in Ukraine.

Ushakov said it's up to Washington to organize a possible future meeting. (VOA)

Jim Mattis Slams ‘Slow Learner’ Vladimir Putin Over Election Meddling

WASHINGTON, LELEMUKU.COM - U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis accused Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday of being a “slow learner” who again tried to meddle in U.S. elections in November, adding that he had no trust in the Russian leader.

The remarks by Mattis at a security forum in California came a day after President Donald Trump held informal talks with Putin on the sidelines of the Group of 20 industrialized nations meeting in Argentina. Trump had scrapped a more formal meeting with Putin, citing Russia’s treatment of Ukraine.

Asked if U.S.-Russian ties had become more strained since he took over the Pentagon last year after Trump became president, Mattis said, “There’s no doubt the relationship has worsened.”

“(Putin) tried again to muck around in our elections this last month. And we are seeing a continued effort along those lines,” Mattis said, adding that the United States would take whatever steps were necessary to defend American democracy.

Election interference

American intelligence agencies concluded that Russia interfered in the 2016 U.S. presidential election to sow discord and boost Trump’s chances through a campaign of propaganda and hacking aimed at disparaging his Democratic opponent Hillary Clinton. A special counsel investigation into Russia’s role in that election and whether Trump’s campaign conspired with Moscow has cast a cloud over his presidency.

The comments by Mattis were the latest sign of deteriorating relations between Washington and Moscow. Russia has denied meddling. Trump has said there was no collusion.

Ahead of the Nov. 6 midterm congressional elections, U.S. intelligence and law enforcement officials accused Russia of trying to influence the vote. U.S. prosecutors in October charged a Russian national with playing a financial role in a Kremlin-backed plan to conduct “information warfare” against the United States, including attempts to influence the midterm election.

Russia-Ukraine tensions

Russian forces opened fire on Ukrainian naval vessels last weekend and seized them and their crew near Crimea, which Russia annexed from Ukraine in 2014. Mattis said those actions underscored why the international community was increasingly distrustful of Moscow.

“Mr. Putin is clearly a slow learner. He is not recognizing that what he is doing is actually creating an animosity against his people,” Mattis said.

“What we are seeing Putin do with his ripping up of international agreements ... we’re dealing with someone that we simply cannot trust,” the Pentagon chief added.

White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders on Saturday confirmed Trump’s encounter with Putin in Argentina in a statement, saying, “As is typical at multilateral events, President Trump and the first lady had a number of informal conversations with world leaders at the dinner last night, including President Putin.”

Speaking in Buenos Aires, Putin told reporters Saturday there were no preconditions for future bilateral talks with Trump.

“It is regrettable that we can’t succeed in holding a full-scale meeting, which is long due,” Putin said, adding that issues of strategic stability would be of paramount importance.

Pompeo dismisses 'parlor game'

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Saturday said the Ukraine events were the only reason Trump canceled his planned formal meeting with Putin in Argentina, not developments in Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia probe.

The decision to scrap the meeting with Putin came shortly after Trump’s former personal lawyer Michael Cohen pleaded guilty Thursday to a charge of lying to Congress about a skyscraper project Trump was pursuing in Moscow during the 2016 U.S. presidential race.

“Ludicrous; Washington parlor game,” Pompeo said in a CNN interview at the G-20 meeting when asked whether Trump was motivated to cancel the meeting by Cohen’s guilty plea. (VOA)