Returning from the Munich Security Conference, where Secretary of State Marco Rubio sought to reassure European officials about Donald Trump’s administration, MS NOW’s David Rohde reported that there are now fresh concerns about the president’s relationship with Vladimir Putin.
Appearing on “Morning Joe” with fill-in host Ali Vitali Monday, Rohde stated that a European official told him that the Kremlin was using the most direct appeal that works with Trump — the offer of money.
Asked about Trump envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner’s ongoing involvement in negotiating an end to the Russian war on Ukraine, Vitali asked, “Can you talk about some of the conversations that you had on the ground about that role?”
“So, in terms of Russia, a senior European official warned me that essentially Moscow and Putin are dangling money in front of the Trump administration,” he reported. “Last week, President Zelenskyy said that an aide to Putin is sort of talking with Witkoff in private about up to 12 trillion dollars somehow in economic and business agreements between the US and Russia. “
“Richard [Haas] just pointed out to me that the entire Russian economy is 2 trillion,” he elaborated. “So, how it grows by four or five times between now and then is unclear. But essentially, there's been great reporting also by the Wall Street Journal about family business deals being made in the Middle East and also, you know, the pursuit of that specifically by Witkoff for business deals in Russia.”
“So there's real concern about what the priority is for the Trump administration among European officials,” he added.
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