"I guarantee you Putin will ask if we can stop NATO exercises, which he likely will characterize as provocative and expensive," Pavel said, noting that North Korea used the same gambit with success.
The outcome of the Trump-Putin meeting will affect perceptions of the 29-member NATO summit, Pavel said.
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"The President's task is to reverse his disturbing tendency to show America's adversaries the deference and esteem that should be reserved for our closest allies. He must show that he can be strong and tough with Vladimir Putin -- not for its own sake, but to demonstrate his willingness to defend America, its allies, our shared interests, and our common values against those who threaten them," McCain said in a statement.
"Putin is not America's friend, nor merely a competitor. Putin is America's enemy -- not because we wish it so, but because he has chosen to be," he added.
Trump's own secretary of defense, James Mattis has also made his views on Russia and Putin very clear in recent months -- at times seemingly contradicting the President.
"He aims to diminish the appeal of the Western democratic model and attempts to undermine America's moral authority. His actions are designed not to challenge our arms at this point but to undercut and compromise our belief in our ideals,"...