Trump, Putin Summit May Be One Step Closer
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WASHINGTON (CBSMiami/CNN) - A summit between President Donald Trump and Russian leader Vladimir Putin may be one step closer.
On Wednesday, Putin met with national security adviser John Bolton.
Putin greeted Bolton in the Kremlin in Moscow, noting that US-Russian relations are at a low point, which he said was mostly due to the US political infighting. He said he hoped that Bolton's visit would achieve the first steps toward improving ties.
Putin told Bolton that Russia never wanted a confrontation with the US and offered to discuss what could be done to "restore full-fledged relations based on equality and mutual respect."
Bolton said he was looking forward to discussing "how to improve Russia-US relations and find areas where we can agree and make progress together."
He added that when Moscow and Washington had differences in the past, Russian and US leaders met and that was "good for both countries, good for stability in the world."
Bolton noted that "President Trump feels very strongly on that subject."
After the meeting, the Kremlin later said an agreement was reached on a summit.
Details of it will be announced on Thursday. Helsinki, the capital of Finland, remains a leading site contender for the two leaders' meeting, people familiar with the planning say.
"The President determined, despite the political noise in the US, that direct communication between him and President Putin was in the interest of the United States, in the interest of Russia, and in the interest of peace and security around the world," Bolton told reporters after his talks with the Russian leader at the Kremlin. He characterized the intended sit-down as not out of the ordinary for a US president, noting Trump's European counterparts regularly meet with Putin, despite their differences.
Trump will be in Europe in mid-July for a NATO meeting in Brussels and a working visit to the United Kingdom. Most White House aides have been operating under the assumption that the Putin meeting will occur after those stops, but on Tuesday, two sources familiar with the matter said it was possible the summit could occur beforehand, on July 10.
Both Bolton and his Russian counterparts declined to offer further details of the planned meeting, saying only they would be revealed on Thursday.
(©2018 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. CNN contributed to this report.)
