President Donald Trump plans to meet tet-a-tet with Vladimir Putin before the official talks in Helsinki. This is reported by CNN with reference to an informed source. The meeting, which will take place on July 16, will be the first official summit of the two heads of state. Previously, Putin and Trump talked only on the fields of international events. It should be noted that before the talks in June between the leaders of the DPRK and the United States, Trump also met with Kim Jong-un in private. According to the American president, he wanted to personally assess the head of North Korea and feel what kind of "chemistry" will arise between them. At the same time, the source notes, Putin is known as a great negotiator, so Trump's aides fear that the Russian leader, after a personal meeting with the American president, will be able to draw the balance in negotiations in his favor. Political scientist Konstantin Blokhin told NNS that Trump wants to meet with Putin precisely because of this very "chemistry" that may or may not arise. "The presence of third parties will only interfere with them," he said.. According to John Bolton, national security adviser, the meeting alone will allow the two leaders to discuss a wide range of issues of interest to them. Assistants to the Russian and American Presidents will take part in the expanded part of the talks in Helsinki.

According to the source, the summit will consider issues related to the situation in Syria, nuclear weapons and alleged interference in the elections. Press-secretary of Vladimir Putin Dmitry Peskov said that the the-a-themes of Putin and Trump are possible. "We do not exclude that if the preliminary agreement is confirmed and there is a preliminary understanding, first the meeting of the two presidents of Putin and Trump will take place face to face," Peskov's words "The Fifth Channel".