MESOP NEWS TODAYS TOP OF THE AGENDA: TRUMP – RUSSIA – IRAN & UKRAINE – Preparing the Visit in Moscow – A SUMMARY OF COMMENTARYS

Ukrainian Leader to Have ‘Drop-In’ Meeting With Trump

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko will meet U.S. President Donald J. Trump and National Security Advisor H. R. McMaster at the White House (Guardian) on Tuesday. Poroshenko called the meeting, which is expected to be brief, an opportunity for the two leaders to discuss “cooperation in the security, political, and economic spheres.” President Trump will not be obliged to make a public statement about bilateral relations. Poroshenko’s office quoted him as saying it is “very important” his meeting takes place before Trump’s first encounter with Russian President Vladimir Putin (RFE/RL) at a G20 summit in Germany this July. Poroshenko commended the U.S. Senate for imposing new sanctions against Russia, saying they are an appropriate mechanism “to force the aggressor to get away from Ukraine” (Reuters).

ANALYSIS

“Although top-level Ukrainian politicians won’t say it, Kyiv clearly fears a deal between Moscow and Washington that could hurt Ukrainian interests. Trump has often given them reason for concern,” Roman Goncharenko writes for Deutsche Welle.

“The Russian sanctions language was an amendment attached to a bill sanctioning Iran over its ballistic missile program and terrorism sponsorship—meaning Trump would have to veto a more aggressive posture toward Iran if he were to veto the new Russia sanctions,” Emily Tamkin writes for Foreign Policy.

“Measuring the effectiveness of sanctions is always a challenge, because everyone has different metrics. So if we think about it in terms of changing Russian policy and Russian strategic objectives vis-à-vis Ukraine, they’ve been very ineffective,” said Samuel Charap in this CFR event.