MOSCOW — Signaling a growing rapprochement between the United States and Russia, the White House and the Kremlin on Thursday will announce the date and location of a summit meeting between President Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Both men have pursued the tête-à-tête in hopes of soothing tensions over Russia’s interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election and its aggression in Ukraine and elsewhere, despite retaliatory actions taken by both of their governments earlier this year.
Plans for the Trump-Putin summit were finalized here in Moscow on Wednesday by national security adviser John Bolton, who held marathon meetings in the Russian capital that included talks with Putin himself at the Kremlin.
Trump has long sought to cultivate a warm friendship with his Russian counterpart as a means to solving intractable problems around the world, and has said he admires the strength of Putin’s authoritarian rule. Bolton said Wednesday that Trump “believes so strongly” that now was the time for a new level of personal engagement – and that Putin agreed.
“Both President Trump and President Putin think they may be able to find constructive solutions,” Bolton said at a news conference in Moscow after his day of meetings. “I’d like to hear someone say that’s a bad idea.”
Bolton said the summit’s time and place would be announced simultaneously on Thursday in Washington and Moscow. The summit is expected to take place in mid-July somewhere outside Russia, during Trump’s trip to Europe for a previously scheduled NATO summit meeting July 11 and 12 in Brussels and a visit to Britain on July 13. There is speculation that Trump and Putin could meet in Helsinki or Vienna, but neither U.S. nor Russian officials have confirmed the location.
Looking ahead to his Putin meeting, Trump told reporters Wednesday, “I’ve said it from day one, getting along with Russia and China and with everybody is a very good thing.” The president praised the Russians for doing “a fantastic job” hosting the World Cup, complimenting the quality of the venues and saying the matches have been “exciting even if you are not a soccer fan.”
Thomas Wright, director of the Center on the United States and Europe at the Brookings Institution, said the summit announcement “is a sign of Trump unbound.”
“He wants to work with Putin. This is what he’s told people he’s going to do and he’s not listening to any objections,” Wright said, noting that Trump “was always a reluctant participant” in implementing sanctions and other tough measures against Russia.
Trump’s summit with Putin threatens to further rupture his relationship with European leaders and is likely raise additional doubts about his commitment to America’s traditional alliances. It will also garner scrutiny in light of Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s ongoing investigation into Russia’s election interference and possible collusion between Putin’s government and Trump’s campaign.
Bolton dismissed those concerns while chiding Trump’s domestic detractors.
“A lot of 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,” Bolton said.
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