Trump, Putin schedule summit
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin will meet July 16 in Helsinki, the White House said Thursday.
“The two leaders will discuss relations between the United States and Russia and a range of national security issues,” according to a statement issued in Washington and Moscow.
Trump said Wednesday that “getting along with Russia and with China and with everybody is a very good thing.” He said he and Putin would discuss Syria, Ukraine and “many other subjects” at the meeting.
“The president hopes that the meeting can help reduce tension and leads to productive engagement that improves peace and security around the world,” deputy press secretary Lindsay Walters told reporters aboard Air Force One during a flight from Wisconsin to Washington.
Trump will head to Helsinki aware that lawmakers from both parties believe he has been too cozy with Putin, a national security adversary, at the same time his trade policies and brash style have managed to alienate long-term U.S. allies and NATO.
Before meeting with Putin,
Trump will attend the July 11-12 NATO summit in Brussels. Last year, Trump dressed down NATO members in Brussels for not paying enough for NATO’S defense. Former British Ambassador to the United States Christopher Meyer speculated on Twitter that Trump will use “the NATO summit for a punch-up to polish his macho credentials before meeting Putin.”
Senate Democrats were critical of Trump’s plan to meet with Putin.
“For President Trump to reward President Putin with a one-on-one meeting while Russia actively continues to interfere with our elections and undermine the integrity of the transatlantic alliance, proves his priorities are out of whack,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said in a statement.
Intelligence officials in the Trump administration have acknowledged the Russians meddled in the 2016 presidential election, which Putin has denied.
Trump has maintained that there was no collusion between Russia and his campaign, which he tweeted again Thursday before the announcement.
Contact Debra J. Saunders at dsaunders@reviewjournal. com or 202-662-7391. Follow @ Debrajsaunders on Twitter.