President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin will meet next month in Helsinki, the capital of Finland, Fox News reported Thursday.
The report, which could not be immediately verified by USA TODAY, came a day after officials in both countries said the leaders will meet in a “third country,” perhaps Finland or Austria.
The Trump-Putin summit would be tacked onto Trump’s pre-scheduled trip to Europe on July 10-14, officials said, though specific details have yet to be nailed down.
“I can say that we have reached an agreement to hold a summit, we have even agreed on the time and the place of the meeting, and we will announce this obviously with our American colleagues tomorrow,” Russian presidential aide Yuri Ushakov told reporters in Moscow on Wednesday.
While Ushakov would not identify the “third country” in which the meeting will be held, Trump told reporters at the White House that Helsinki and Vienna, Austria, are finalists.
The Kremlin made the announcement Wednesday as National Security Adviser John Bolton visited Moscow to work out the details of a summit designed to discuss the disputes between the two countries.
“Both President Trump and President Putin think they may be able to find constructive solutions,” Bolton told reporters. “I’d like to hear someone say that’s a bad idea.”
In addition to planning the Trump summit, Putin and Bolton discussed Russian involvement in Ukraine, the Syria civil war and efforts to denuclearize North Korea, all of which are expected to be subjects at the summit, officials said.
The Russian leader also denied allegations that Russia interfered in the 2016 presidential election that elected Trump, the Kremlin said.
Trump has denied any collusion with Russians during his 2016 campaign, and Bolton echoed that denial. “People have said or implied over time that a meeting between President Trump and President Putin would somehow prove some nexus between the Trump campaign and the Kremlin, which is complete nonsense,” he said.
Leave A Comment
You must be logged in to post a comment.