Trump, Putin to hold summit soon in 'third country': Russia

Russia and the US have agreed to hold a summit between President Vladimir Putin and President Donald Trump.

Kremlin foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov said the summit would take place in a mutually-convenient third country and that several more weeks were needed for preparations.

He said Moscow and Washington would announce the time and place of the summit today.

Ushakov was speaking after Putin held talks with US National Security Adviser John Bolton in the Kremlin.

Bolton was warmly greeted by the Russian president in a grand meeting room at the Kremlin, with statutes of Russian czars as a back

Putin opened the meeting by saying US relations are in a poor state. Putin said that is in large part because of the domestic political environment in the United States.

“Your visit here to Moscow inspires hope that we will be able to take first steps to restore full-fledged relations between Russia and the United States,” Putin said. “Russia never sought confrontation, and I hope that today we will be able to talk about what we can do from both sides in order to restore full-fledged relations on the foundation of equality and of respect for each other's interests.”

Bolton said he hoped Russia and the United States could find “areas where we can agree and make progress together.”

Trump's national security adviser joked that he looked forward to “hearing about how you handled the World Cup so successfully,” drawing a big smile from Putin. Russia is currently hosting the football tournament, while US has been picked to host the 2026 tournament as part of a joint bid with Mexico and Canada.