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  • 2016-12-13 (xsd:date)
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  • Did Obama Suggest 'More Flexibility' Toward Russia After the 2012 Election? (en)
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  • In December 2016, amid reports that U.S. intelligence officials had determined that the Russian government purposely meddled in the 2016 presidential election to help Donald Trump win, partisan sources recirculated four-year-old stories about a 2012 incident in which President Obama was overheard whispering to then-Russian President Dmitri Medvedev that he (Obama) would have more flexibility to negotiate after the U.S. election that November. According to news reports at the time, the incident happened as described. The occasion was a joint press opportunity with Medvedev prior to a global nuclear security summit in Seoul, South Korea. According to Reuters, snippets of conversation between the two were picked up by live microphones before the meeting got underway: The audible portions of the conversation were captured on video: Issues surrounding a planned NATO missile defense system had been a sticking point in relations between the two nations for some time, the Telegraph reported: Obama's intended off-the-record assurances to the transitioning Russian leadership were roundly criticized by his political opponents, who feared it signaled a lack of resolve on the president's part, the Los Angeles Times reported: Benjamin J. Rhodes, a White House deputy national security adviser, gave Obama's comments a prosaic spin: Obama was quoted the following day saying he wasn't trying to hide the ball, and would carry through with negotiations with Russia. In May 2016, after nearly a decade of planning (and over the continued objections of Russia), the NATO missile defense system in Europe was finally launched. Fast-forwarding to December 2016, it is unclear precisely what equivalence, if any, is supposed to exist between Obama's 2012 vow of flexibility and claims that Russia took Trump's side in the presidential election, but sources such as CNSNews.com emphasized Obama's persistent criticism of Trump's alleged closeness to Vladimir Putin: (en)
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