Helsinki summit should help Russia-NATO ties: Shoygu

By Elena Teslova

MOSCOW (AA) - The summit in Helsinki earlier this month of the Russian and U.S. presidents will help to deepen Russian-NATO relations, said Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoygu on Tuesday.

"We expect that the Russia-U.S. summit of July 16 will boost the deepening of our cooperation with Washington and North Atlantic alliance countries, and will let us consolidate the efforts of all parties in the interests of common security," Shoygu told a Russian Defense Ministry Board meeting in Moscow, noting the current low level of Russia-NATO cooperation.

The first ever full-scale meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his U.S. counterpart Donald Trump drew condemnation from Democrats and Republicans alike over a series of comments by Trump appearing to place him unduly close to Russia.

At issue were his comments about Russia's alleged interference in the 2016 presidential election and his welcoming an interview exchange proposal by Putin.

Before meeting with Putin, Trump attended a NATO meeting in Brussels where he made comments that caused further strains in the transatlantic alliance.