Trump likely to meet Putin next month in Europe
Russia’s Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump are likely to hold their first official summit in Europe next month. The meet had been sought out for some time by the two leaders aiming to mend the strained bilateral relations, confirmed senior officials of both the governments.
The confirmation on the summit came following a two-hour meeting between the Russian president and visiting US National Security Advisor John Bolton. The time and place of this summit will be announced tomorrow simultaneously by the Kremlin and the White House, Bolton told reporters after his meeting with Putin.
According to the British press, the White House seeks to schedule the Trump-Putin meeting for before the July 11-12 NATO summit in Brussels or immediately after the US president's visit to the United Kingdom, set to take place on July 13.
Trump is also likely to pay a visit to London to hold talks with British Prime Minister Theresa May.
"I've said it from day one, getting along with Russia and with China and with everybody is a very good thing. It's good for the world, it's good for us, it's good for everybody. So, we'll probably be meeting sometime around my trip to Europe," Trump told reporters during a joint media appearance with Polish President Rebelo De Sousa.
US and Russia have disagreed on a variety of issues that also include the conflicts in Ukraine and Syria and the nuclear disarmament. This has reached a point where the relations between the two countries are at their worst since the fall of the Soviet Union.
"Russia has never sought confrontation, and I hope that we can talk today about what can be done by both sides to restore full-format relations on the basis of equality and respect," Putin said.
The two leaders met twice last year on the sidelines of the international summits.
US Vice President Mike Pence who is currently travelling to Ecuador welcomed the prospects of the meeting. "Plans for Trump-Putin meet is just one more example of president Trump's willingness to engage leaders around the world but he will engage by putting America first. Just as we saw in the Singapore summit and in meetings with allies at the G7 summit in Canada," Pence said.
