President Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin will host an international summit at a time and place yet to be announced, the Kremlin said Wednesday after a Moscow meeting with U.S. national-security adviser John Bolton.
“I can say that we have reached an agreement to hold a summit, we have even agreed on the time and the place of the meeting, and we will announce this obviously with our American colleagues tomorrow,” Russian presidential aide Yuri Ushakov told reporters, according to Russian state media.
The meeting will be “used as an opportunity to exchange opinions on major international problems — this list is quite clear and obvious — as well as the poor state of our bilateral relations,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told CNN.
Trump is traveling to Europe in July to meet with NATO allies, prompting speculation that his meeting with Putin may occur on July 10, prior to his other European appearances.
Bolton, a longtime Russia hawk who joined the administration in March, met with Putin Wednesday amid historically high tensions between the two nations.
“Your visit here to Moscow inspires hope that we will be able to take first steps to restore full-fledged relations between Russia and the United States,” Putin said in welcoming Bolton. “Russia never sought confrontation, and I hope that today we will be able to talk about what we can do from both sides in order to restore full-fledged relations on the foundation of equality and of respect for each other’s interests.”
“Even in earlier days when our countries had differences, our leaders and their advisers met and I think it was good for both countries, good for stability in the world and President Trump feels very strongly on that subject,” Bolton told Putin during the meeting.
White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders confirmed in a Wednesday tweet that Bolton would pursue a potential summit in his meeting with Putin.
“While in Moscow today, Ambassador Bolton is meeting with President Vladimir Putin and other senior Russian officials to discuss United States-Russia relations, as well the potential for a Presidential meeting,” she wrote.