The Foreign Service Journal, September 2018

22 SEPTEMBER 2018 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL matic practitioners, still does not know what was said and what promises might have been made in the private meeting without notetakers. One of the stories to come out of the Helsinki summit was the apparent will- ingness of President Trump to consider allowing the Russians to interrogate for- mer U.S. Ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul and 11 other U.S. officials. The foreign affairs community reacted with outrage. Helsinki Commission Chairman Senator Roger Wicker issued a statement July 19: “Vladimir Putin’s suggestion that the United States make American public servants available to Kremlin investigators is ludicrous.” In a July 20 statement, the American Academy of Diplomacy explained: “Full diplomatic immunities are essential to protecting diplomats in their efforts to keep their government fully and com- pletely informed without hindrance from other states and to carry out foreign pol- icy in all its aspects, free of such interven- tion or the threat of such intervention. “American diplomats need to be able to trust that their immunities will be fully preserved by both, so long as they are performing their duties and in connection with previously performed duties covered by such immunities under international law. Administrations and policies may change, but our diplomats must be confident that our government has their back.” To the suggestion that the United States offer up Amb. McFaul for ques- tioning by Russia, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said, “That’s not going to happen.” n This edition of Talking Points was compiled by Donna Gorman, Shawn Dorman and Jacob Borst.