Washington—Representative Eliot L. Engel, Chairman of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, today made the following statement about President Trump’s upcoming White House meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov:

“Today, President Trump again opens the Oval Office to one of Vladimir Putin’s chief deputies, Foreign Minister Lavrov.  The last time President Trump welcomed Lavrov to Washington, he handed the Russians classified information, undermining our national security.  President Trump’s pattern of cozying up to autocrats and our adversaries harms American interests and undermines American leadership. While dialogue with the Russians is important, especially for strategic stability and the future of arms control, I have no confidence in President Trump to defend our interests in these conversations. With President Trump, all roads lead to Putin. The American people deserve to know what happens at this meeting and the President should provide a full readout afterward so we can ensure that he acted in the best interest of the American people and their security.”

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