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Trump backs off idea for joint US/Russian 'impenetrable Cyber Security unit'
Goes from #MAGA to 'can't happen' in eight tweets
US president Donald Trump has revealed that he and Russian opposite number Vladimir Putin discussed creation of a joint “impenetrable Cyber Security unit” at the G20 Leaders summit, but then displayed Modern Presidential behaviour by quickly dismissing the chances of the unit ever materialising.
Trump was a bit late to reveal the talks, as Putin's Saturday-dated official transcript of his end-of-G20 press conference revealed that he and Trump discussed security collaboration as follows:
The US President and I have agreed to establish a working group and make joint efforts to monitor security in the cyberspace, ensure full compliance with international laws in this area, and to prevent interference in countries' internal affairs. Primarily this concerns Russia and the United States. We believe that if we succeed in organising this work – and I have no doubt that we will – there will be no more speculation over this matter.
“This matter” is Russia's alleged interference in last year's US elections.
On Sunday, US time, Trump popped out this Tweet.
Putin & I discussed forming an impenetrable Cyber Security unit so that election hacking, & many other negative things, will be guarded..
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 9, 2017
The White House Briefing Room was silent on both Trump's meeting with Putin and offered no details of the “unit”.
But Trump weighed in again thirteen hours after his first Tweet with this one.
The fact that President Putin and I discussed a Cyber Security unit doesn't mean I think it can happen. It can't-but a ceasefire can,& did!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 10, 2017
Why the turnaround? Your idea's as good as anyone's, dear readers, although perhaps US senator Marco Rubio's opinion on the unit was typical of Republican sentiment on the idea.
Partnering with Putin on a "Cyber Security Unit" is akin to partnering with Assad on a "Chemical Weapons Unit". 2/3
— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) July 9, 2017
The United States already has a “no-hack pact” with China, although it's been described as a “joke” by one analyst. ®