‘What’s next, accuse Russian diplomats of doping?’ Lavrov mocks absurd media storm over his ‘secret’ meeting with Trump
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov took a moment to poke fun at US media and members of Congress obsessing about his ‘secret’ meeting with US President Donald Trump, while throwing shade on WADA for the Russian sports ban.
On a whirlwind trip to Washington, DC on Tuesday, Lavrov met with his US counterpart Mike Pompeo as well as Trump, behind closed doors at the White House. Congressman Adam Schiff (D-California), House Democrats’ point man for Trump impeachment, called it a “success of Russian propaganda.”
Trump is meeting with Russia’s Foreign Minister in the Oval Office — again.
Adversaries invited in. Allies locked out.
Last time, they laughed about Trump’s firing of Comey. Today, they can celebrate the success of Russian propaganda.
Reagan wouldn’t recognize this GOP. pic.twitter.com/iHiksPXMbM
— Adam Schiff (@RepAdamSchiff) December 10, 2019
https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js
Answering a question by RT about that on Tuesday evening, Lavrov called Schiff’s position “absurd.”
“There was no press at our meeting, American or Russian. If Schiff can describe the ministerial-level contacts normal to any country and my meeting with the president in such a way, then I believe that they will soon be accuse our diplomats, just as they have our athletes, of doping and call for criminal punishment,” Lavrov told reporters.
One US reporter sought to trap Lavrov with a trick question, asking if Trump gave him any classified information again – in reference to the May 2017 meeting when the US president was accused of doing so.
“I can only find that out based on what you report,” Lavrov replied, nonplussed. “We talked about what I openly and literally told you. If you find some secrets there, feel free to make that sensational.”
Asked by another reporter about the timing of his visit to Washington – just as the House announced impeachment and the Senate debated another proposal to sanction Russia, the foreign minister shrugged it off, saying that US lawmakers seem to discuss these things every day, so today seemed as good as any.
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