Panetta: When Trump Cancels Meetings with Putin It Feeds into ‘Impression of Weakness’ and ‘That’s What Putin Is Taking Advantage Of’

EXCERPT:

PANETTA: "I come from the school that says that when you have a G20 meeting, the purpose of that is diplomacy. It gives the President of the United States the opportunity to do a number of bilaterals with world leaders. To be able to talk about some of the key issues that are impacting on our national security. I regret the fact this President decided he was not going to sit down with Putin and confront him directly on what is happening in the Ukraine and what is happening with regards to the nuclear agreement and what is happening with regards to continuing cyber attacks on our country. All of those issues, the President of the United States ought to be willing to stand up and speak directly to Vladimir Putin about doing that. That’s the whole purpose. I think when the President, frankly, cancels those meetings, it again feeds into this impression of weakness and that’s what Putin is taking advantage of. He’s taking advantage of the United States because he reads weakness in the United States and how we react. He’s going to continue to be a bully as long as we don’t stand up to him."