Kremlin: Trump and Putin to meet in 'third country'

Kim Hjelmgaard and David M. Jackson | USA TODAY

Show Caption Hide Caption Official: Date, place set for Trump-Putin summit A foreign affairs adviser to Russian President Vladimir Putin said Moscow and Washington reached an agreement Wednesday on the date and location for a summit between Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump. (June 27)

WASHINGTON – Amid concern from U.S allies, presidents Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin will meet next month in a "third country," perhaps Finland or Austria, officials in both countries said Wednesday.

"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.

While Ushakov would not identify the "third country" in which the meeting will be held, Trump told reporters at the White House that Helsinki, Finland, and Vienna, Austria, are finalists.

The Kremlin made the announcement 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.

Putin also sent his regards to Trump via Bolton, and said "he attaches great importance to the upcoming meeting," according to the statements by the Kremlin and Ushakov.

At the White House, Trump told reporters he had not yet received a full report from Bolton on his talks in Moscow, but, "I have always said meeting with Russia and China is a very good thing, good to the world."

The summit will begin with a one-on-one meeting, with talks to last "several hours." The two leaders may issue a "joint statement" at the summit "outlining further steps to improve relations," the Russians said in their statements.

Other topics of the Bolton meeting include nuclear arms control and the U.S. president's decision to withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal, the Russians said.

One topic that did not surface at the Bolton meeting, according to the Kremlin: Sanctions on Russia over its activities in Ukraine and its U.S. election activities.

Bolton said the U.S. position is that sanctions on Russia should remain in place, and that it will not recognize the Russian annexation of the Crimea region of Ukraine.

Helsinki is a possible location for a Trump-Putin summit that 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. The two countries also considered Vienna as a possible meeting site.

Trump's trip includes a NATO conference in Brussels, and the American president is at odds with allies over their levels of defense spending as well as policy toward Russia.

In greeting Bolton at the Kremlin, Putin said that Russia does not want confrontation with the United States, and is willing to discuss how to "restore full-fledged relations based on equality and mutual respect."

Bolton said he wanted to talk with Putin about "how to improve Russia-U.S. relations and find areas where we can agree and make progress together."

This would be the first stand-alone summit for Trump and Putin; the two held less formal meetings last year on the sidelines of economic conferences in Germany and in Vietnam. They have also spoke by phone several times.

Trump critics are attacking his plan to meet Putin, saying he is overly supportive of his Russian counterpart in the wake of Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. election.

Allies have expressed concern that Trump will undercut NATO unity in objecting to Russian expansionism in Ukraine and threats against other countries in Europe.

Earlier this month, Trump suggested that the G-7 group of industrialized nations re-admit Russia as a member. Other members disagreed, and the G-7 summit in Canada dissolved in disputes between Trump and allies over trade.

Officials had discussed Vienna, Austria, as a possible site for a Trump-Putin meeting, but switched to Helsinki because of its proximity to Russia. Putin has scheduling commitments around the World Cup soccer tournament, including the championship game in Moscow on July 15.

For the United States, Helsinki has some diplomatic-historical resonance: President Gerald Ford traveled there in 1975 to sign the Helsinki Accords, a declaration aimed at improving relations with the then-Communist Soviet Union.

President George H.W. Bush held his first summit meeting with Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev in the city in 1990. They spoke about a developing crisis in the Middle East.

"Finland is always ready to offer its good services if asked," Finland’s President Sauli Niinisto tweeted Tuesday in response to questions about the summit.

Contributing: The Associated Press