The key meeting took place on 22 January 2016, the papers suggest, with the Russian president, his spy chiefs and senior ministers all present. Russia’s three spy agencies were ordered to find practical ways to support Trump, in a decree appearing to bear Putin’s signature. The overall tone and thrust is said to be consistent with Kremlin security thinking. After the meeting, according to a separate leaked document, Putin issued a decree setting up a new and secret interdepartmental commission. ‘Spell-binding’ documentsAndrei Soldatov, an expert on Russia’s spy agencies and author of The Red Web, said the leaked material “reflects reality”.

Source: The Guardian July 15, 2021 10:01 UTC