Speaking at a rally in Great Falls, Montana, US President Donald Trump said he expected to have a good meeting with Russia's Vladimir Putin later this month and suggested that a "good relationship" might come out of it, Sputnik News reported.

Senior administration officials said during a call with reporters Thursday Trump is going into the meeting with his "eyes wide open" to make sure Russian Federation is held accountable for hybrid warfare and aggression in Ukraine and Syria. "We're entering with our eyes wide open, but peace is always worth the effort".

Mr. Trump and Mr. Putin will meet July 15 in Helsinki, Finland.

President Donald Trump, a political impresario and disrupter, is never happier than when holding the world in thrall.

Russian's Lavrov hopes visiting U.S. lawmakers will help mend ties: agencies
According to Russian media reports, Lavrov lately met with a U.S. lawmakers delegation on Trump-Putin meeting. A Kremlin spokesperson said Tuesday Putin would be comfortable meeting with Trump one-on-one at their summit.

Trump has denied that his campaign colluded with Russian Federation and has repeated that Putin has denied involvement in the USA electoral process.

Huntsman also said Trump is pursuing the meeting in the interests of national security, to reduce tensions and lead to constructive engagement.

Just last week, he trumpeted a Putin talking point, tweeting: "Russia continues to say they had nothing to do with Meddling in our Election!"

An extension of the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) for another five years may be on the agenda during the talks between Trump and Putin, a senior United States administration official said, according to Reuters.

Water pumped from Thai cave as bid to rescue trapped boys intensifies
Thai army soldiers rest at the base camp before going to Tham Luang cave. "It's like he has been given a new life", she said. At a news conference, officials said no rescue attempt would be made on Wednesday but conditions were ideal for a rehearsal.

Huntsman also said that, prior to his summit with Putin, the USA president will discuss Russia's activities at the summit of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation leaders on July 11 in Brussels.

Also in the teleconference, Kay Bailey Hutchison, the US envoy to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), said Russian Federation would be a key topic at the NATO summit in Belgium next week.

The leaders are also likely to discuss New START, under which both nations cut their deployed strategic nuclear warheads to no more than 1,550, the lowest level in decades.

"My guess is that that will be part of the discussion as well, but I don't want to get ahead of the possible summit conversations", Huntsman said.

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