Trump-Putin meeting to follow NATO gathering

The two leaders will meet in Helsinki, Finland on July 16

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Finland next month comes after what will likely be a tense gathering with NATO allies and follows Trump’s repeated calls to improve relations with Russia.

The White House and the Kremlin announced Thursday that the two leaders would meet July 16 in Helsinki, with the White House saying they will “discuss relations … and a range of national security issues.”

Trump expressed enthusiasm for the sitdown Wednesday.

“I’ve said it from day one, getting along with Russia and with China, and with everybody is a very good thing,” Trump said. “It’s good for the world, it’s good for us, it’s good for everybody.” He said they would discuss Syria, Ukraine and “many other subjects.”

Earlier this month, Trump called for Russia to be reinstated in the Group of Seven industrialized democracies. Russia was ousted from the elite group in 2014 as punishment for Putin’s annexation of Crimea and its support for pro-Russian separatists in Ukraine. In the U.S., special counsel Robert Mueller is investigating whether Trump’s campaign colluded with Russia in a bid to sway the 2016 presidential election in his favor.

Trump has continually parroted the Kremlin’s denial of election interference, a move that has put him out of step with the findings of the U.S. intelligence community, a bipartisan consensus in Congress and Trump’s own appointees, who say there is clear evidence of Russian efforts to influence the 2016 presidential campaign.