By Nathan Hodge, Wall Street Journal:
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu warned against U.S. efforts to deal with his country “from a position of strength” ahead of a key meeting Thursday, as the North Atlantic Treaty Organization said it would boost its naval forces in the Black Sea.
Marine Corps Gen. Joseph Dunford, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, is scheduled to meet his Russian counterpart, Gen. Valery Gerasimov, in Baku, Azerbaijan. The meeting will mark the highest-level military contact between Washington and Moscow since 2014.
In a statement issued Thursday morning, Mr. Shoigu directed remarks to U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, who said Wednesday at a NATO defense ministerial meeting in Brussels that the U.S. hoped for improved relations with Russia, but added that diplomats from the alliance needed to be able to “negotiate from a position of strength” with Moscow.
71 Year-Old Female GOP Staffer Knocked Unconscious By Liberal Protesters
“We are ready to restore cooperation with the Pentagon,” Mr. Shoigu said. “But attempts to build a dialogue from a position of strength with regard to Russia are hopeless.”
To read the rest of the article visit the Wall Street Journal.