Vladimir Putin-Donald Trump summit on July 16 in Helsinki

Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump

US President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin will hold a summit meeting on July 16 in Helsinki, Finland, the White House announced yesterday. They "will meet on July 16, 2018, in Helsinki, Finland," White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said. "The two leaders will discuss relations between the United States and Russia and a range of national security issues," Sanders said.

The announcement of date and venue comes a day after Putin's adviser Yuri Ushakov in Moscow said the two leaders will meet in a third country. The summit will include one-on-one talks between the presidents and conclude with a joint news conference, Ushakov said, adding that the two leaders are expected to issue a joint statement. The meeting takes a place in the midst of a number of investigations involving Congress and the FBI into alleged Russian interference in the 2016 election, including possible links between the Russians and Trump campaign.

Ahead of the announcement, Trump tweeted: "Russia continues to say they had nothing to do with Meddling in our Election!" The announcement comes a day after National Security Adviser John Bolton held talks with Russian officials in Moscow to lay the groundwork for the summit. Trump said on Wednesday that "getting along with Russia and with China and with everybody is a very good thing." He said they would discuss Syria, Ukraine and "many other subjects."