Helsinki As US-Russia Summit Locale Would Let Putin Get Back For World Cup

By Kate Riga | June 27, 2018 10:04 am

The White House has set aside three days at the end of President Donald Trump’s upcoming trip to Brussels and the UK for a potential summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin, the location of which is rumored to be neutral, historical and convenient Helsinki.

According to a Tuesday Politico report, the Finnish capital is a sufficiently neutral backdrop, as well as one suffused with historical significance: former President Gerald Ford signed the Helsinki Accords with the Soviet Union there, and former President George H. W. Bush met Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev there in the 1990s.

And perhaps most importantly, it’s close enough to get Putin back to Russia in time for the final match of the World Cup.

Per Politico, National Security Adviser John Bolton will be in Moscow this week to talk logistics for the meeting.

###

https://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/helsinki-for-us-russia-summit-would-let-putin-get-back-for-world-cup-match