Beset with Russia problems since his election, President Trump met for the first time Wednesday with top Russian officials and emerged pledging better relations with Moscow, while accusations mounted that he fired the FBI director to thwart an investigation into his campaign’s Kremlin ties.
The president’s Oval Office meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Russian ambassador to the U.S. Sergey Kislyak, the latter a source of some of Mr. Trump’s troubles, did not address accusations of Russian tampering in the U.S. presidential election, Mr. Lavrov said later.
“We discussed specific issues, and we didn’t even raise those absurd issues,” Mr. Lavrov said of the hacking claims, which he called “fake information.”
Mr. Trump said they had a “very, very good meeting,” and that the U.S. and Russia are making progress toward a cease fire in Syria, where the Russian military is backing the Syrian government of President Bashar Assad the brutal six-year-long civil war.
“We’re going to stop the killing and the death,” Mr. Trump said.
Discussions included a Russian plan to create “safe zones” in Syria; U.S. officials say they need to work out how those zones would be patrolled and enforced. Mr. Trump also emphasized the need for Russia “to rein in the Assad regime, Iran and Iranian proxies.”
The White House said Mr. Trump is seeking “to build a better relationship” with Moscow, less than a month after Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said relations between the two countries were at a low point. That assessment came after Syrian forces launched a chemical-weapons attack against civilians, and Mr. Trump responded with missile strikes on a Syrian military base also used by Russian personnel.
Mr. Lavrov said he’s optimistic that U.S.-Russia relations will improve, mainly because Mr. Trump is no President Obama.
“I would say that our dialogue as of now is free from ideology that was very typical for [Barack] Obama’s administration,” Mr. Lavrov told reporters. “Both Mr. Trump and the secretary of state of his administration, as I realized today once again, are businesslike people and they want to reach agreements.”
In Washington, however, Mr. Trump’s political distractions over Russia showed no sign of abating. Democrats in Congress intensified their criticism Wednesday that the president’s firing of FBI Director James B. Comey a day earlier was a Nixonian attempt to sidetrack the investigation Mr. Comey was leading into the Trump campaign’s possible ties to Russia.
The president himself seemed outwardly untroubled by the furor or the comparison to Nixon, even bringing in former Nixon Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, an old friend, for consultations on Syria and Russia.
In brief remarks to reporters, Mr. Trump said he fired Mr. Comey “because he was not doing a good job.” Asked whether the controversy was affecting his talks with the Russians, the president replied, “Not at all.”
Mr. Kislyak didn’t talk to reporters after the meeting, but his influence has been unavoidable in the new administration. His phone conversations during the transition with Michael Flynn became the root of Mr. Trump firing Mr. Flynn as White House national security adviser, because Mr. Flynn misled Vice President Mike Pence about the extent of their talks, which had been monitored by U.S. intelligence agencies.
Mr. Lavrov rejected accusations that Moscow had meddled in the presidential election as “fabrications,” saying the notion of a powerful country such as the U.S. being vulnerable to outside influence must be “humiliating” to Americans.
“How can it be possible for such a great power and great country?” Mr. Lavrov said of the U.S. “I believe that politicians are damaging the political system of the U.S., trying to pretend that someone is controlling America from the outside.”
The White House said Mr. Trump also raised the issue of Ukraine with the Russians, whose proxies have seized portions of the country and are battling Ukrainian forces.
Mr. Trump “expressed his administration’s commitment to remain engaged in resolving the conflict and stressed Russia’s responsibility to fully implement the Minsk agreements,” which call for a negotiated end to the hostilities and the withdrawal of Russian-backed forces.
Mr. Lavrov called his meetings with Mr. Trump and Mr. Tillerson “a businesslike, fruitful approach.”
The Russian minister also poked fun at the U.S. media furor over the firing of Mr. Comey. During a meeting with Mr. Tillerson at the State Department, reporters shouted questions at both men about the firing of the FBI director.
“Was he fired?” Mr. Lavrov deadpanned.
“Yes,” a reporter answered.
“You are kidding. You are kidding,” Mr. Lavrov replied.
• Dave Boyer can be reached at dboyer@washingtontimes.com.
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