WASHINGTON, DC – Today, after U.S. National Security Advisor John Bolton confirmed to the press that President Donald Trump has formally invited Russian President Vladimir Putin to visit Washington, DC next year, U.S. Senator Jack Reed (D-RI), the Ranking Member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, issued the following statement:

“Inviting Putin to Washington for a summit sequel is ill-advised.  Such a meeting will further Putin’s strategic aims, but marks a real setback for the United States and our allies.

“There is nothing wrong with the U.S. and Russia engaging in dialogue, but diplomatic, national security, and intelligence professionals need to lay the groundwork and be involved every step of the way.  The Trump White House prioritizes photo ops and ratings over serious diplomacy.

“Putin wants another one-on-one with President Trump to reinforce his own power and undermine U.S. leadership.

“The first Trump-Putin summit was an unmitigated disaster for the United States and a propaganda coup for Russia.  President Trump was completely unprepared and out of his depth.  He fawned over a foreign adversary and sided with Putin over U.S. intelligence.  In moving forward with this meeting now it appears President Trump is again ignoring America’s own intelligence experts.

“Putin wants to weaken and supplant American leadership, and President Trump should not give him a platform to do so.  And under no circumstances should President Trump meet alone with Putin.  We still don’t know what was said in the last secret meeting, but we do know that President Trump failed to stand up to him in a public setting. 

“The Trump White House needs to explain to the American people why this meeting is necessary and what President Trump hopes to gain.  They also should explain why they seem to be making it easier to be America’s adversary than it’s friend.”