Putin, Trump to meet in Helsinki on July 16: Kremlin

The expected summit between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his US counterpart Donald Trump will be of great significance to both the bilateral relations and the world, Russian media reported on Thursday.

The Kremlin and the White House both said on Thursday that the summit will take place in Helsinki, Finland, on July 16.

The Kremlin said the two leaders would discuss the current state and outlook for US-Russia relations as well as international issues.

Trump had said that he will probably meet Putin during his scheduled trip to Europe after attending the NATO Summit in Brussels on July 11-12. Kremlin had said that the two leaders will get together "in a third country".

Putin met with US National Security Advisor John Bolton in Moscow on Wednesday.

Russia and the United States, both permanent members of the United Nations Security Council and major countries with great international influence, shoulder important responsibility for international peace and security, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang said on Thursday.

That the two countries improve ties, strengthen dialogue and expand cooperation will be conducive to world peace and development, and will help the international community to work together to tackle various global challenges, he said.

Russian newspaper Vzglyad Gazeta said the meeting is of significance. The two leaders met twice in Germany on the sideline of the G20 Summit in 2017 and in Vietnam during APEC summit in November, but it will be the first time that they have an official summit in a private space.

The newspaper said Putin and Trump will hold a private conversation only accompanied by interpreters.

Trump has been seen as caring about maintaining good personal relations with Putin while bilateral ties kept sinking due to Russia's alleged meddling in the 2016 US presidential election.

"Trump has great faith in personal diplomacy," Brookings Institution Senior Fellow Michael O'Hanlon said.

"Trump likes Putin and feels the United States should have close relations with Russia," said another Brookings Institution Senior Fellow, Darrell West.

European scholars predicted that the summit is likely to have little impact on any softening of Western sanctions against Russia.

"I am sure that Putin will urge Trump to soften the Western sanctions on Russia, and Trump will no doubt say that he will do his best, but it is likely that no progress will happen," said Margot Light, emeritus professor of international relations at the London School of Economics and Political Science.

Mathieu Boulegue, a research fellow on the Russia and Eurasia program at Chatham House, said it is important to note that, even if Trump wants to soften sanctions, it would be difficult for that to happen because they would need approval from US Congress.

Xinhua and AFP contributed to this story.

Contact the writers at renqi@chinadaily.com.cn.