RUSSIA: Trump-Putin summit to be held in Finland on 16 July

US President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin will hold a summit in the Finnish capital, Helsinki, next month. They will meet on 16 July and discuss relations between the two countries and a “range of national security issues”, the Kremlin and White House said. The face-to-face meeting comes at a time of […]

US President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin will hold a summit in the Finnish capital, Helsinki, next month.

They will meet on 16 July and discuss relations between the two countries and a “range of national security issues”, the Kremlin and White House said.

The face-to-face meeting comes at a time of poor relations between Russia and Western nations.

Nato’s chief welcomed the talks, saying “dialogue is a sign of strength”.

“We don’t want a new Cold War, we don’t want to isolate Russia, we want to strive for a better relationship with Russia,” Jens Stoltenberg said.

Mr Trump’s visit to Helsinki will follow a Nato summit in Belgium and a stop in Britain for talks with Prime Minister Theresa May.

While the White House and Kremlin statements were both short on detail, Mr Trump earlier said he would discuss the war in Syria and the situation in Ukraine.