President Trump has asked to meet alone with Russian President Vladimir Putin "before allowing other aides to join" when the two men get together in Helsinki on July 16th.
CNN:
Trump has shown an affinity for meeting individually with his counterparts before opening the room to fuller delegations. During his historic summit with Kim Jong Un last month, Trump met for about an hour with just the North Korean dictator, joined only by their translators. Emerging from the face-to-face, Trump told reporters the discussion was "very, very good."
He had said before the Singapore talks that he wanted to take the measure of Kim personally and gauge their chemistry. In the case of Putin, Trump has already assessed their interpersonal ties up close, but wants more time to develop the leader-to-leader relationship, according to the person familiar with the summit's planning.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters Tuesday Putin would be fine with the one-on-one.
CNN:
Without official note-takers or other witnesses, one-on-one meetings lack any official record, making it difficult afterward to determine whether agreements have been reached. Putin is known as a shrewd negotiator who some officials worry could exploit such a session and extract concessions from Trump.
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At Trump and Putin's first meeting, on the margins of the G20 summit in Hamburg, Germany, a year ago, the only aide to accompany the President was then-Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, along with a US translator. The session went so long that first lady Melania Trump was sent in to try to cut it off.
In a second conversation during dinner at the same summit, Trump was without a translator who spoke Russian, so instead relied on Putin's. The men spoke for about an hour without any other aides present, officials said later. The White House downplayed the significance of the encounter, but experts expressed concern there was no official US record of the talk.
This time, it's expected a larger delegation of aides will participate in the expanded portion of the summit for a discussion that will center on Syria, nuclear weapons and election meddling.
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Trump raised the meddling issue during his first meeting with Putin in Hamburg. But afterward, differences emerged between the two sides. Tillerson said Trump had pressed Putin on the matter. But the Kremlin said Trump had accepted Putin's denials that Russia interfered in the election.
In a conversation with reporters aboard Air Force One on Friday, Trump indicated the election issue would arise again, along with other matters.
"I'll talk to him about everything," Trump said. "We're going to talk about Ukraine, we're going to be talking about Syria, we'll be talking about elections. And we don't want anybody tampering with elections. We'll be talking about world events. We'll be talking about peace. Maybe we talk about saving billions of dollars on weapons, and maybe we don't."
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On Monday, leading foreign-policy Democrats urged Trump in a letter to hold Putin accountable for Russia's destabilization efforts, including election meddling, support for the Syrian regime and the annexation of Crimea.
"While there is a place for dialogue between nations on disagreements and common challenges, such as reducing nuclear dangers, we are deeply concerned that your Administration continues to send mixed messages regarding the Russian security threat," the Democrats -- Sens. Robert Menendez of New Jersey, Dick Durbin of Illinois, Mark Warner of Virginia and Jack Reed of Rhode Island -- wrote to Trump. "During your meeting with President Putin, we ask that you convey that there will be clear consequences for Russia's interference in democratic processes in the United States and elsewhere, its support for violence and bloodshed in Ukraine and Syria, and the illegal occupation of Crimea."
Trump plans one-on-one meeting with Putin (CNN)
Putin happy to hold one-on-one meeting with Trump at summit, says Kremlin (Reuters)