Trump Wants Surprise Nuke Deal Before Election

Axios reports:

President Trump is looking to Vladimir Putin to close the deal on a pre-election nuclear agreement, a timetable that’s an October surprise even for senior Republicans and some in the White House.

The big picture: Trump and Putin have discussed arms control in a string of phone calls over the last six months, and they’ve dispatched envoys to negotiate in Vienna. But talks appeared stalled until just a few days ago.

On Friday, a source familiar with the discussions said the Trump administration believed it now had an agreement in principle, blessed by Putin and Patrushev, that could be finalized within a week once negotiations resume in earnest.

? ? Trump wants surprise pre-election nuclear deal with Putin, Russia https://t.co/lgn1Mb8x6o

— Jim VandeHei (@JimVandeHei) October 11, 2020