Donald Trump confirms summit with Vladimir Putin sparking fears they'll strike a 'peace deal'
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Loading... - Graham Davies
- 28 Jun 2021
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It's been confirmed Donald Trump will hold a summit with Vladimir Putin - sparking fears in Britain that they'll strike a 'peace deal'.
The US President told reporters he could meet his Russian counterpart around his trip to the UK in just two weeks' time.
The deal was struck after a trip to the Kremlin by National Security Advisor John Bolton, who held a meeting with President Putin.
President Trump said last night: "It would look like we will probably be meeting some time in the not too distant future.
"We will probably be meeting some time around my trip to Europe." The trip was later confirmed.
Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said the summit would take place in a mutually convenient third country and several more weeks were needed to prepare.
Helsinki has been suggested as the possible meeting place.
The plans by the US President have prompted alarm in the British government and fresh fears for the future of the Nato alliance.
President Trump already met his Moscow counterpart twice during last year's meeting of the G20.
But the pair have not broken off ties, despite relations between the Kremlin and the West plunging into deep freeze.
President Trump this month said Russia should be allowed back into the G7 - despite fury over the poisoning of Sergei Skripal in Salisbury, and a UK minister warning Russia is preparing for war.
According to The Times, Britain fears Trump will undermine Nato by striking a 'peace deal' with the Russian President.
A Cabinet minister told the Times: "What we're nervous of is some kind of Putin-Trump 'peace deal' suddenly being announced.
"We could all see Trump and Putin saying, 'why do we have all this military hardware in Europe?' and agreeing to jointly remove that."
The sources feared the President could hand the Kremlin a propaganda victory with an agreement like that signed by North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un.
Nearly 2,000 British troops have led a Nato deployment in Estonia as part of a heavy military presence in the Baltic states, near the Russian frontier.
The US leader is due at the Nato summit in Brussels on July 11-12, followed by a working visit to Britain on July 13 to see the Queen and Theresa May.
