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HELSINKI, AN OBVIOUS CHOICE FOR TRUMP-PUTIN SUMMIT
The choice of Helsinki as the location for the first long awaited summit between presidents Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin is a reminder of the Finnish capital’s Cold
War history, when it was the backdrop for a number of key tete-a-tetes between U.S. and Russian leaders.
Finland shares a 1,340-kilometer (832-mile) border with Russia.
HISTORY
On August 1, 1975 the Helsinki Accords were signed by then U.S. president Gerald Ford and Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev.
In 1990, one year before the fall of the Soviet Union, Finland organized the last U.S.S.R.-U.S. summit, hosting U.S. president
George Bush and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev.
The last big meeting between a U.S. and Russian president in Helsinki dates back to 1997, when Bill Clinton held talks with Boris Yeltsin.
THE DATE
Trump will meet Putin after attending a July 11-12 summit of NATO leaders and a visit to Britain. The date will give Putin a chance to attend the July 15 closing ceremony of the soccer World Cup hosted by Russia. NATO summit in Brussels.
WHAT WILL BE ON AGENDA SYRIA
NOTES
• Right now, there are about 2,000 U.S. troops in Syria, working as advisers to the Syrian Defense Forces or providing other support to local militias battling the Islamic State.
• The mission to eradicate the Islamic State, also known as ISIS, in Syria is “coming to a rapid end” for the United States, according to White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee
Sanders.
WHAT INDIA WOULD WANT
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