let's turn to josh letterman from the associated press.e you. >> hi, shep. >> shepard: the part about restricting what the president is do, is this unusual, unique? >> it's very unique. it stems from concerns among really members of both parties in congress that president trump wants to pursue closer relations with russia and might be inclined to ease the sanctions put in place in the past. of course, the fact that there's a disconnect between congress and the white house on how they should go about these sanction and the future lifting of them doesn't matter to moscow. they know it will make life harder for them and that's why russia is responding, all right, you slapped us with sanctions, you closed our compounds, we're going to do the same thing from you. >> shepard: aside from those three things, were there other sanctions, ones that were particularly biting for them? >> there's been all kinds of economic sanctions on the russians not only over our concerns about cyber interference but also over the situation in ukraine and then this l

and josh letterman foreign affairs reporter for the a.p. jack, you think we are ascribing to putin more ju-jitsu skills than he deserves. why is that. >> this is all self-aggrandizement. i worked with a lot of agents and i was one of the better trained agents. we were not supermen and we are not supermen. i couldn't help but laugh when i heard the stability that heal read mr. putin like an open book. everybody does. don't they? >> well, so what do you think from putin's standpoint then, what do you think he's trying to -- we've read he wants to have the compounds that president obama seized in the final days of his presidency as pub punishment for meddling in the u.s. elections. what does putin want out of the meeting with the united states? >> i don't think it's about any specific goals. it's more or less about when two dogs meet for the first time in a dog patch, they size each other up and who is going to be the top dog. i pretty much guarantee you that putin's advisers told him back at the kremlin, look, there is going to be a great mee

. >>> let's bring in josh letterman now, national security and foreign policy reporter for the associated press, with me now on set here. >> let me, in fact, remind you this is live television. while certain language may be acceptable there on the ground in hamburg, it is not acceptable here in new york city. josh, let me start with you there. i want to play a piece of sound here from president trump in poland again, a key u.s. ally in eastern europe about two hours ago. this is the president definitively affirming america's commitment to nato. take a listen as we watch president trump take off. >> the united states has demonstrated not merely with words but with its actions that we stand firmly behind article v, the mutual defense commitment. words are easy, but actions are what matters. and for its own protection -- and you know this. everybody has to know this. europe must do more. >> how are our european allies reading that, josh? >> well, they're not exactly pleased to hear that part of it. but they are pleased to hear the president finally on european soil affirm his commitment to a

. >> all right, josh letterman, neal stange, thank you both. >>> this could be a big win in the fight against isis. today, on the ground and declaring victory in mosul. he personally congratulated iraqi troops as the fight to regain control of the city nears its end. the bloody campaign now lasting nearly nine months, and it left the city in ruins, killing and displacing thousands of civilians. isis militants seizing control in 2015, the leader declaring it a caliphate. let's bring in nbc's richard engel live from irbil, iraq, with the latest on this. richard, what challenges still remain? suicide bombers to be worried about? is there an actual victory there in mosul? >> reporter: no. there is not a victory yet. there is still pockets of the city. there's still heavy fighting. we had a crew in mosul all day, so we can tell you with 100% certainty that there is still a great deal of fighting taking place in the center of mosul, but it is not very -- the terrain that is still held by isis is shrinking, and it is shrinking by the day. we're now talking about a few pockets in the old city