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PUTIN-TRUMP MEETING IN HELSINKI

Helsinki police create security zone near Trump’s hotel

The only unblocked route leading to the hotel is now being equipped with metal detectors and luggage scanners

The Hilton Kalastajantorppa hotel Ilya Dmitryachev/TASS

The Hilton Kalastajantorppa hotel

© Ilya Dmitryachev/TASS

HELSINKI, July 15. /TASS/. The Helsinki police have stepped up security measures near a hotel in the Finnish capital, where US President Donald Trump will stay during his July 16 meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, TASS correspondents reported.

The Hilton Kalastajantorppa hotel is located on the seaside of the Gulf of Finland, in the remote neighborhood of Munkkiniemi.

Amid unprecedented security measures, manhole covers at nearby streets were welded to rule out the possibility of them being used for a terror attack. One of the streets, adjacent to the hotel, was blocked by a Finnish army truck. According to announcements, attached to nearby homes, the road will be closed between 18:00 local time on Saturday and 18:00 local time on Monday.

Residents were asked to remove parked vehicles from roads and yards, otherwise they will be evacuated by the police.

The only unblocked route leading to the hotel is now being equipped with metal detectors and luggage scanners, similar to those installed at airports.

A security official, interviewed by TASS, did not elaborate on when the US president is expected to arrive.

"I simply have no information on this," the official said. "All I can say is that the security measures being taken are most serious, everything is being done on the top level."

Earlier, police said that some areas in the Helsinki city center will be closed for traffic because of the meeting. The measures will affect a number of streets, including the city’s main street, Mannerheimintie.

Certain streets in the vicinity of the Helsinki-Vantaa airport will also be closed.

US President Donald Trump is expected to arrive in Helsinki for summit talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Sunday night and will stay with his spouse Melania Trump, the Helsingin Sanomat daily reported.

Hilton Kalastajantorppa is a famous international conference and banqueting hotel located near the seaside and just 15 minutes of drive from the center of the city. This hotel received at different times many world celebrities and politicians, including Leonid Brezhnev Gerald Ford, Helmut Schmidt, Harald V of Norway, Jawaharlal Nehru, Mikhail Gorbachev, Ronald Reagan, Vladimir Putin and many others.

Presidents of Russia and the United States are scheduled for their first summit meeting in the Finnish capital of Helsinki next Monday, July 16. The leaders were reported to be accompanied by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and US Secretary of State Michael Pompeo as well as various experts and advisors.

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