Donald Trump meeting is an 'opportunity' for Scotland, insists John Swinney
John Swinney has insisted his forthcoming meeting with Donald Trump presents an "opportunity" for Scotland.
The First Minister said most Scots said most Scots would expect him "to engage, promote and pursue the interests of the country" when he speaks with the US President.
Trump, who is expected to fly in towards the end of next week, will formally open a second golf course at his Menie Estate resort in Aberdeenshire during his trip.
The Republican leader revealed this week he would meet with Keir Starmer in Aberdeen, which he described as the "oil capital of Europe". There is no date or venue confirmed for Trump's meeting with Swinney but the Record understands it is likely to be the Granite City.
The Scottish Greens have criticised the SNP leader's decision to meet with the US President, with Patrick Harvie describing it as "tragic".
Speaking to reporters in Glasgow today, Swinney said: "I think most people would expect their First Minister to meet with the President of the United States. It's an opportunity for me to set out the issues that concern people in Scotland, and also issues we might want to make some headway with."
The First Minister continued: "I understand there will be people who don't agree that I should take forward this meeting. I understand where they're coming from. But I'm the First Minister, and I think members of the public would expect me to engage, promote and persue the interests of the country.
"I think it's important that where I have an opportunity to influence issues that will affect Scotland, I should take it."
Trump told the BBC he was firmly in favour of the continuation of the North Sea oil and gas sector. The US President is a long-term critic of offshore windfarms.
"We're going to have a meeting with... a state meeting with the prime minister, and that's going to be up in Aberdeen, which is the oil capital of Europe, they should bring it back too," Trump said.
"They have so much oil there. They should get rid of the windmills and bring back the oil. [Because] the windmills are really detrimental to the beauty of Scotland and every other place they go up."
Asked if he was on the same page as the President when it came to North Sea oil, Swinney said: "What I've set out is the importance of us delivering a just transition for the North Sea oil and gas sector. There will be production of North Sea oil ands gas that's got to be maintained for some considerable time, because we will retain a dependence on fossil fuels as we manage our transition to net zero. That's the nub of the issue for me, we've got to manage that transition carefully."
Asked what his response would be if Trump called to get rid of windmills, Swinney responded: "We're not going to do that".
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