President Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin will meet July 16 in Helsinki, Finland, the White House announced Thursday.
The announcement confirmed details arranged a day earlier when National Security Adviser John R. Bolton met with Mr. Putin in Moscow.
“President Donald J. Trump and President Vladimir Putin of the Russian Federation will meet on July 16, 2018, in Helsinki, Finland. The two leaders will discuss relations between the United States and Russia and a range of national security issues,” said White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders in a statement.
Shortly before the announcement, Mr. Trump tweeted about Russia denying meddling in the 2016 U.S. presidential election and implied that Democrat Hillary Clinton’s campaign may have colluded with Moscow.
“Russia continues to say they had nothing to do with Meddling in our Election! Where is the DNC Server, and why didn’t Shady James Comey and the now disgraced FBI agents take and closely examine it? Why isn’t Hillary/Russia being looked at? So many questions, so much corruption!” he wrote.
U.S. intelligence agencies believed Russia meddled in the 2016 election, both by hacking into Democratic National Committee and Clinton campaign email and by using bots to spread disinformation on social media.
Mr. Trump’s tweet underscored how the meeting with Mr. Putin will enflame criticism by his political foes at home.
Still, Mr. Trump has stressed the importance of forging a better relationship with Russia to address common concerns. He said Wednesday that any talks with Mr. Putin would include tough issues of Ukraine and Syria, where the U.S. and Russia have been at odds.
• S.A. Miller can be reached at smiller@washingtontimes.com.
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