Trump-Putin meeting will help reduce tension in world: US envoy to Russia

President Donald Trump has said that his meeting with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in Helsinki on July 16 would lead to "constructive engagement" between the two nations and help reducing tensions around the world, US Ambassador to Russia Jon Huntsman today said.

In a telephonic interaction with the reporters ahead of the meet, the US envoy, however, tried to keep the deliverables from the summit to "low expectations" and stated that the meeting itself was a major deliverable.

Trump and Putin will meet on July 16 in the Finnish capital, Helsinki to discuss the US-Russia relations and a range of national security issues, he said.

Huntsman said that the President was pursuing this meeting in the interest of America's national security, to determine whether Russia is willing to make progress in our bilateral relationship.

"The President hopes that a meeting can help reduce tensions and lead to constructive engagement that improves peace and security around the world because you can't solve problems if you're not talking about them," the US Envoy said.

Observing that Trump believes that a better relationship with Russia would be good for both the countries, he said "but the ball really is in Russia's court. The President will continue to hold Russia accountable for its malign activities."