Photo: Kamala Harris and Donald Trump
Former President Donald Trump lied that his Democratic presidential opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris, met with Russian dictator Vladimir Putin just days before Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
This is what CNN writes after conducting a fact-check.
Trump said in a speech in North Carolina on August 21: “Remember when Biden sent Kamala to Europe to stop the war in Ukraine. She met with Putin, and then three days later he attacked. How did she do? Do you think she did a good job? She met with Putin to tell him, 'Don't do it.' And then three days later he attacked; that's when the attack began.”
CNN notes that Harris has never met with Putin. In fact, she met with US allies, including Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, at the Munich Security Conference days before Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022. Putin was not at the conference.
“Frankly, I can't recall any contact between President Putin and Mrs. Harris,” a Kremlin spokesman said in July.
On the day of the Munich conference, CNN reported, citing a senior administration official, that Harris had three main goals: “To focus on the 'rapidly changing' situation on the ground, maintain full coordination with partners and send a clear signal to Russia that the US prefers diplomacy but is prepared for Russian aggression.”.
BAGNET notes that Trump previously said that Biden and his talk of Ukraine's NATO membership gave Russia grounds for a full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Prepared by: Sergey Daga