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Preparations for Putin-Trump summit underway — Kremlin

Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump are expected to meet in Helsinki on July 16

© Mikhail Klimentyev/Russian Presidential Press and Information Office/TASS

MOSCOW, June 29. /TASS/. Russian and US Presidents Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump will discuss a number of complex issues during their meeting in Helsinki on July 16, Russian Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

According to the Kremlin spokesman, thorough preparations are underway for the Helsinki summit. "The meeting is highly anticipated by many, there will be a very serious conversation about very complex issues," Peskov stressed.

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When asked about Putin’s schedule during the July 16 summit, Peskov noted, "Too early to talk about it yet, work to agree it is in progress."

Finland’s capital of Helsinki was chosen as a location of the upcoming summit, he said. "Probably, this location was more preferable for both sides in logistic terms," Peskov said.

Moscow and Washington have earlier announced that the two countries’ leaders will meet in Helsinki on July 16. Trump and Putin will discuss "the current state and prospects of further development of Russian-US relations and also vital issues of the international agenda," the Kremlin press service said.

Russian and US Presidents Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump will discuss a number of complex issues during their meeting in Helsinki on July 16, Russian Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

According to the Kremlin spokesman, thorough preparations are underway for the Helsinki summit. "The meeting is highly anticipated by many, there will be a very serious conversation about very complex issues," Peskov stressed.

When asked whether the Kremlin believes Trump is ready to take certain steps towards rapprochement with Russia during the upcoming talks in Helsinki despite the risk of growing criticism in his country, Peskov recalled that "President Putin has said from the very beginning that Russia is interested and is ready to develop relations and embark on the path of normalizing relations with the US to the extent our American counterparts are ready to do so."

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