Austria gearing up for Putin-Trump meeting in Vienna on July 15 – report

Austria’s authorities are preparing to host a meeting between Russian and US Presidents, Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump, in Vienna on July 15, TASS reports, citing Austria’s Kronen Zeitung.

According to the newspaper’s sources, several days ago diplomatic representatives of Washington and Moscow arrived in the Austrian capital to discuss in detail holding the first bilateral summit between Russia and the US, expected to be held in Vienna on July 15. Senior security officials from both countries have arrived in Austria to prepare for the meeting and have started monitoring the situation to organize the talks. The final decision on the summit’s date may be made in the middle of the next week, the report said.

Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Sunday he was not ready to inform media about the venue and date for holding a possible Putin-Trump meeting. "We are not ready to provide this information," Peskov said when asked to comment on the Austrian newspaper’s report. "We will inform you as soon as we are ready."

Putin and Trump held a telephone conversation on March 20. According to the Kremlin press service, after the phone call the top Russian and US diplomats were asked to explore the issue. On June 10, the Russian president confirmed he was ready to meet with Trump as soon as Washington was ready for the summit. On June 21, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said "neither the Kremlin nor the White House has made any official statement" on a possible Putin-Trump meeting.