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US Senators Ask Pompeo to Release Transcript of Trump-Putin Summit in Helsinki

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - US Senators Robert Menendez and Jeanne Shaheen wrote a letter to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Friday asking him to release relevant documents and interpreter notes from President Donald Trump's summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Helsinki, Finland.
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"We respectfully request that you provide the Senate Foreign Relations Committee members relevant materials including all classified and unclassified cable traffic, memoranda of conversations, interpreter's notes and policy directive related to the meeting," the letter said.

Menendez and Shaheen expressed concern about the type of commitments made by Trump and Putin behind closed doors during their one-on-one meeting on July 16.

The senators explained the concerns were fueled by Trump's remarks in a joint press conference with Putin after the talks in which the US president appeared to accept Putin's denial of Russia’s interference in the 2016 US presidential election.

READ MORE: US Security Adviser Bolton Shares Washington's Fears Over Election Meddling

Menendez and Shaheen told Pompeo in the letter that they were particularly interested in commitments made by the two presidents regarding Syria and Ukraine.

The senators, who are vocal supporters of sanctions against Russia, called for urgent congressional oversight of the matter, adding that the materials from the summit meetings are crucial to understanding what possible steps the two administrations will take in the near future.

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Trump said after the summit that his talks with Putin were productive and he did address Russia's alleged meddling in US elections. Putin denied the allegations of meddling in the US election and suggested not to bring up this issue over and over again because it is absurd.

Russian officials have said the allegations of election meddling were invented to excuse the election loss of a presidential candidate as well as deflect public attention from actual election fraud, corruption, and other pressing concerns.

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