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Finland ready to host US-Russia summit — president

Western media earlier reported that Finland’s capital Helsinki is considered as a possible venue for a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his US counterpart Donald Trump

Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump Mikhail Metzel/TASS

Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump

© Mikhail Metzel/TASS

HELSINKI, June 26. /TASS/. Finland is not commenting on the possibility of hosting the meeting between the presidents of Russia and the United States, but is ready to offer assistance if asked, the Finnish presidential administration said on Tuesday.

"Finland is always ready to offer good services, if asked," the administration quoted President Sauli Niinisto as saying.

Earlier in the day, Reuters cited a high-ranking US official as saying that Finland’s capital Helsinki is considered as a possible venue for a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his US counterpart Donald Trump. According to the agency’s sources, Austria’s capital Vienna is not considered a potential venue anymore.

Politico, in its turn, quoted a "person familiar with the planning" of the event as saying that "everyone’s preparing as if it’s Helsinki." The White House has already reserved three days on the back end of Trump’s mid-July trip to the United Kingdom and Brussels for the potential US-Russian summit, the paper said.

When contacted by TASS, a spokesperson for the National Security Council of the White House declined to comment on the reports.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on June 9 that Putin and Trump had discussed a bilateral meeting in Vienna during their latest phone conversation.

US National Security Adviser John Bolton will travel to Moscow on June 27 for consultations on bilateral issues, including the potential talks.

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