Russia and Putin · 2016 campaign · № 24
Praised Putin for not retaliating against Obama's sanctions: 'I always knew he was very smart!'
“Great move on delay (by V. Putin) - I always knew he was very smart!”
- Said
- , Twitter (@realDonaldTrump); the tweet was pinned to the top of his profile
- Subject
- Putin's non-retaliation
- Type
- Sanctions and pressure
- Topic
- Elections
- Era
- 2016 campaign
What happened
Putin had set aside a recommendation from his own government to retaliate against the sanctions and expulsions Obama announced on December 29, saying Russia would not pursue 'irresponsible diplomacy'; the Russian Embassy retweeted Trump's post. According to the special counsel's report, on December 29 incoming national security adviser Michael Flynn, after conferring with transition officials at Mar-a-Lago, asked Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak that Russia 'not escalate the situation' and respond only 'in a reciprocal manner'; that day K.T. McFarland briefed Trump, who asked whether the Russians did 'it' and 'expressed doubt that it was the Russians'. On December 31 Kislyak told Flynn that Russia had chosen not to retaliate 'in response to the request'. Flynn told the special counsel's office he did not document his discussion of sanctions 'because it could be perceived as getting in the way of the Obama Administration's foreign policy'.