U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin will soon hold a summit, U.S. national security adviser John Bolton said in Moscow Wednesday after meeting with Mr. Putin at Mr. Trump’s request to broker a meeting between the two leaders.
Details of the summit’s timing and location would be announced on Thursday, Mr. Bolton said, adding that he and Mr. Putin had discussed all bilateral issues the U.S. considers relevant, including Russia’s interference in U.S. elections. That topic, he said, would also be discussed at the meeting between the two leaders.
“Despite all the political noise, President Trump has decided it’s in the interests of the U.S. to talk to President Putin,” Mr. Bolton told reporters after his meeting with the Russian leader. “There is a wide range of issues we can work constructively on despite the differences between us.”
“I think a lot of people at home have said that a meeting somehow proves some nexus between Russia and the Trump campaign,” Mr. Bolton added. “I think this is nonsense....He’s pursuing U.S. foreign policy in the national interest.”
The summit would likely be preceded by a meeting between U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Mr. Bolton said.
The summit is to be held in a third country, Kremlin foreign-policy adviser Yuri Ushakov said, according to Interfax news agency, and would start with a one-on-one meeting between the presidents that could last several hours and would focus on bilateral relations, Syria and arms-control issues.
Helsinki is among the locations being discussed for the summit, according to people familiar with the matter. The summit is expected to be held while Mr. Trump is in Europe next month for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization summit in Brussels and a planned visit to the U.K., the first of his presidency.
Austria has also conveyed to the U.S. its willingness to host the summit, a U.S. official said. Mr. Putin earlier this month asked Austria’s chancellor to organize a meeting with Mr. Trump in Vienna.
In public comments after their meeting, Messrs. Putin and Bolton said they hoped to improve relations, which have been damaged by disagreements over Russia’s military interventions in Ukraine and Syria and Russia’s meddling in the 2016 U.S. presidential elections.
Mr. Putin said he thought the poor state of relations were “in large part the result of the internal political fight in the U.S.,” adding that Mr. Bolton’s visit gave him hope that the countries could revive their ties.
“I hope we can today discuss what both sides could do to restore full-fledged relations on the basis of equality and respect for each other’s interests,” the Russian president said.
Messrs. Putin and Bolton discussed bilateral relations, global stability and nuclear-arms control but didn’t address sanctions, said Mr. Ushakov, the Kremlin adviser. They also discussed the situations in Syria, Ukraine, Iran and North Korea, he said.
Mr. Bolton is the highest-ranking Trump administration officials to visit Moscow since former Secretary of State Rex Tillerson did so last year.
The Wall Street Journal reported this month that the White House has begun early preparations for a potential Trump-Putin summit. Mr. Putin has also been lobbying European leaders, particularly Austrian Prime Minister Sebastian Kurz, to help set a date with the Trump administration.
Since Mr. Trump took office, the U.S. has heightened sanctions on Russia over its interference in the 2016 presidential elections and its alleged role in the nerve-agent poisoning of an ex-spy and his daughter in the U.K. in March, including expulsions of diplomats and restrictions on some Russian companies and tycoons. Russia has hit back with its own diplomatic expulsions.
At the same time, Mr. Trump has frequently expressed an interest in working with Mr. Putin on a range of international crises, particularly Syria.
Mr. Trump this month suggested that Russia should be allowed back into the Group of Seven industrialized nations. Russia was kicked out of the group after its invasion and annexation of Crimea in 2014.
Mr. Bolton said the U.S. won’t recognize that annexation and sanctions put in place against Russia in response to it should remain in place. He also said Russia’s re-entry to the group could be a topic of discussion at next month’s summit.
Details of the summit’s timing and location would be announced on Thursday, Mr. Bolton said, adding that he and Mr. Putin had discussed all bilateral issues the U.S. considers relevant, including Russia’s interference in U.S. elections. That topic, he said, would also be discussed at the meeting between the two leaders.
“Despite all the political noise, President Trump has decided it’s in the interests of the U.S. to talk to President Putin,” Mr. Bolton told reporters after his meeting with the Russian leader. “There is a wide range of issues we can work constructively on despite the differences between us.”
“I think a lot of people at home have said that a meeting somehow proves some nexus between Russia and the Trump campaign,” Mr. Bolton added. “I think this is nonsense....He’s pursuing U.S. foreign policy in the national interest.”
The summit would likely be preceded by a meeting between U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Mr. Bolton said.
The summit is to be held in a third country, Kremlin foreign-policy adviser Yuri Ushakov said, according to Interfax news agency, and would start with a one-on-one meeting between the presidents that could last several hours and would focus on bilateral relations, Syria and arms-control issues.
Helsinki is among the locations being discussed for the summit, according to people familiar with the matter. The summit is expected to be held while Mr. Trump is in Europe next month for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization summit in Brussels and a planned visit to the U.K., the first of his presidency.
Austria has also conveyed to the U.S. its willingness to host the summit, a U.S. official said. Mr. Putin earlier this month asked Austria’s chancellor to organize a meeting with Mr. Trump in Vienna.
In public comments after their meeting, Messrs. Putin and Bolton said they hoped to improve relations, which have been damaged by disagreements over Russia’s military interventions in Ukraine and Syria and Russia’s meddling in the 2016 U.S. presidential elections.
Mr. Putin said he thought the poor state of relations were “in large part the result of the internal political fight in the U.S.,” adding that Mr. Bolton’s visit gave him hope that the countries could revive their ties.
“I hope we can today discuss what both sides could do to restore full-fledged relations on the basis of equality and respect for each other’s interests,” the Russian president said.
Messrs. Putin and Bolton discussed bilateral relations, global stability and nuclear-arms control but didn’t address sanctions, said Mr. Ushakov, the Kremlin adviser. They also discussed the situations in Syria, Ukraine, Iran and North Korea, he said.
Mr. Bolton is the highest-ranking Trump administration officials to visit Moscow since former Secretary of State Rex Tillerson did so last year.
The Wall Street Journal reported this month that the White House has begun early preparations for a potential Trump-Putin summit. Mr. Putin has also been lobbying European leaders, particularly Austrian Prime Minister Sebastian Kurz, to help set a date with the Trump administration.
Since Mr. Trump took office, the U.S. has heightened sanctions on Russia over its interference in the 2016 presidential elections and its alleged role in the nerve-agent poisoning of an ex-spy and his daughter in the U.K. in March, including expulsions of diplomats and restrictions on some Russian companies and tycoons. Russia has hit back with its own diplomatic expulsions.
At the same time, Mr. Trump has frequently expressed an interest in working with Mr. Putin on a range of international crises, particularly Syria.
Mr. Trump this month suggested that Russia should be allowed back into the Group of Seven industrialized nations. Russia was kicked out of the group after its invasion and annexation of Crimea in 2014.
Mr. Bolton said the U.S. won’t recognize that annexation and sanctions put in place against Russia in response to it should remain in place. He also said Russia’s re-entry to the group could be a topic of discussion at next month’s summit.
