Trump-Putin meeting to follow NATO gathering
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin firmed up plans Thursday to meet in Helsinki next month for a closely watched sit-down days after what is likely to be a tense meeting between Trump and some of the United States’ closest allies.
Trump and Putin will meet July 16 against the backdrop of an ongoing special counsel probe into possible ties between the president’s campaign and Russian officials. The investigation into Russian election meddling has raised tensions between Moscow and Washington at a time when Trump has repeatedly said he wants to build a strong personal relationship with Putin.
“We’re looking forward to it. If we could all get along, it would be great. The world has to start getting along,” Trump said during a visit to Wisconsin on Thursday. The day before, he said they would discuss Syria, Ukraine and “many other subjects.”
The summit location and date were announced in statements from Moscow and Washington. The White House said the presidents will “discuss relations between the United States and Russia and a range of national security issues.”
Trump’s relationship with Putin long has been the source of intrigue, at home and in world capitals. He has praised his authoritarian peer while straining ties with many of the United States’ closest allies.
The timing of Trump’s meeting with Putin likely will do little to ease concerns across Europe. It comes at the end of Trump’s weeklong trip to Europe, which begins in Belgium at NATO, an intergovernmental military alliance between 29 North American and European countries that has countering possible Russian aggression at its heart. At a NATO summit last year, Trump scolded leaders for the cost of the gleaming new Brussels headquarters and for not paying enough to support NATO’s defense.
From Brussels, Trump will make his first visit to the United Kingdom since taking office. He will meet with Prime Minister Theresa May but not receive the lavish state welcome he has enjoyed at stops in other foreign capitals. Instead, he is expected to be greeted with significant protests.
Earlier this month, Trump called for Russia to be reinstated in the Group of Seven industrialized democracies, which expelled Moscow four years earlier as punishment for Putin’s annexation of Crimea and its support for pro-Russian separatists in Ukraine. The idea of reinstating Russia was roundly rejected by most fellow G-7 nations.