US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will be in the hot seat when he testifies before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on July 25, 2018 about President Donald Trump’s closed-door summit with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin (Brendan Smialowski)

Washington (AFP) – US senators alarmed by Donald Trump’s performance at last week’s summit with Russia’s Vladimir Putin are set to grill Secretary of State Mike Pompeo Wednesday about what exactly transpired between the two presidents in their closed-door meeting in Helsinki.

Lawmakers — and America’s allies around the world — are eager to learn the details of the controversially private meeting, including whether Trump made any secret promises to Putin or as-yet undisclosed verbal agreements.

Pompeo’s appearance before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, which begins at 3:00 pm (1900 GMT), will be the most closely watched congressional testimony of his young tenure as the nation’s top diplomat.

Lawmakers also have been keen for Pompeo to report back about a previous critical summit — the one between Trump and North Korea’s Kim Jong Un that took place on June 12 in Singapore. 

Senator Bob Corker, the committee’s Republican chairman and an occasional Trump critic, said Trump’s “undermining” of NATO and his controversial tariffs — which have mushroomed into a trade war — are also on the agenda.

But senators want answers first and foremost about Trump’s statements at a joint press conference with Putin, which were seen by Republicans and Democrats as a betrayal of US interests and too conciliatory towards the Russian leader.

“The Helsinki press conference was a sad day for our country, and everyone knows it,” Corker told reporters Tuesday.

Russia will therefore be the primary focus of Pompeo’s appearance, and he is expected to draw a firm line against the Kremlin. He has previously insisted that Trump’s administration is relentlessly tough on Putin’s government.

The secretary of state has suggested he will be able to inform Congress of what took place between Trump and Putin.

“I wasn’t in the room, but I’ve had a number of conversations with President Trump. I’ve spoken with (Russian) Foreign Minister Lavrov,” Pompeo told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

“I think I have a very good understanding of what took place between the two leaders.”

Pompeo also will be closely watched to see if he threatens consequences should Russia again interfere in the US election process, or if he denounces Putin for annexing Crimea.

Pompeo said Tuesday he will “testify about a lot of things” including the “incredibly important” Trump-Putin summit.

That meeting was panned by US lawmakers and observers, but Pompeo insisted it was “one I think the world will have benefited from when history is written.” 

– ‘Unanswered questions’ –

Congress has been rattled by Trump’s Helsinki performance, particularly when he appeared to accept Putin’s denials rather than US intelligence conclusions that Russia interfered in the 2016 presidential election.

The criticism was so swift that Trump subsequently said he misspoke and that he believed Russia had indeed meddled in the election. 

Congressional leaders in Trump’s Republican Party were quick to stress that the Russian strongman was not welcome in the US Capitol.

But the White House has announced that Putin has been invited to Washington for another meeting later this year.

The political turmoil swirling around Trump has only grown in the past week, with Trump launching bellicose tweets at Iran and doubling down on his tariff plans.

With Moscow stressing that “agreements” had been reached between the two leaders over the situation in Syria, the content of their two-hour conversation with no one else but their interpreters present has been the subject of conjecture. 

“I gave up NOTHING,” Trump wrote on Twitter.

The US State Department said three “modest proposals” have emerged from the summit: a high-level business leaders’ working group; a council of US and Russian political experts, diplomats and military officials; and discussions between the two presidents’ national security staffs.

Opposition Democrats have launched withering attacks on Trump, demanding additional transparency and going so far as to try to haul the president’s interpreter before Congress. 

“We have too many unanswered questions,” House Foreign Affairs Committee top Democrat Eliot Engel, complaining that Pompeo was not testifying before his panel as well.

“What deals were made” between Trump and Putin, Engel asked. 

“What agreements were reached? The Russians are claiming that a great deal was discussed, but so far, we’ve heard nothing from this administration.”

Some Senate Democrats and Republicans have called for a classified briefing Wednesday to hear more about Helsinki, but Corker suggested there would be no such opportunity.

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