Mattis open to meeting with Russian defense chief: report

Defense Secretary James Mattis is reportedly open to meeting with his Russian counterpart in upcoming months to increase cooperation and communication between the two countries’ militaries.

Two senior U.S. officials told Reuters that, while Mattis has indicated that he is open to talks with Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, a first step to higher-level political talks between the two nations, Mattis is not currently actively seeking communication with Shoigu either in person or by telephone.

{mosads}Shoigu is a top critic of U.S. foreign policy in Russia and last week told an Italian newspaper that Russia would work to counter America’s “neocolonialism strategy.” 

The news comes after President Trump’s meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Helsinki, Finland, where the two leaders held a bipartisan summit after which Trump again appeared to cast doubt on Russia’s role in spreading misinformation and sowing discord during the 2016 election.

The president said at the White House Tuesday that he misspoke during a joint press conference with the Russian leader, and told reporters that he instead meant to say that he didn’t see any reason why it “wouldn’t” have been Russia that interfered in the U.S. election — not “would.”

His initial remarks supporting Putin’s denial spurred a flurry of outraged statements from Democrats and Republicans, who condemned the president for appearing to side with Moscow over his own intelligence agencies.