Trump-Putin summit to happen in July

US President Donald Trump says he will meet his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin for talks at a special summit in July.

Trump said the summit could possibly take place in Helsinki, Finland where he will discuss the war in Syria and the situation in Ukraine with his Russian counterpart. 

The announcement comes after US national security adviser John Bolton helped Moscow and Washington strike a deal to hold the summit, a move likely to worry some US allies and draw a fiery reaction from some of Trump's critics at home.

Bolton also met Putin for talks earlier on Wednesday and said healthy ties between Washington and Moscow are good for global stability.

Helsinki

The summit is expected to take place after Trump attends a NATO summit in Brussels on July 11 and 12 and visits the UK on July 13. 

Kremlin foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov, speaking after Putin met Bolton in the Kremlin, said the summit would take place in a mutually convenient third country and that several more weeks were needed to prepare for it.

"This meeting has been planned for a long time," Ushakov told reporters. 

"It has enormous importance for Russia and America, but it [also] has huge importance for the whole international situation. I think it will be the main international event of the summer."

A senior US official said that Finland's capital Helsinki was being considered as a location.

TRT World's Tetiana Anderson reports from Washington.

US allies

Such a summit is likely to irritate US allies who want to isolate Putin, such as Britain, or those who are concerned about Trump's attitude towards Russia. 

It is also likely to go down badly among foreign and domestic critics who question Trump's commitment to NATO and fret over his desire to rebuild relations with Moscow even as Washington tightens sanctions.

Ushakov said Moscow and Washington would announce the time and place of the summit on Thursday, but that Putin and Trump were likely to hold talks for several hours when they meet and hold a joint news conference.

He spoke of a possible joint declaration at the summit on improving US-Russia relations and international security and said the Kremlin was pleased with how Bolton's visit had gone.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov might also meet his US counterpart Mike Pompeo, he added.