In this file photo taken on Nov. 11, 2017, U.S. President Donald Trump (R) and Russian President Vladimir Putin talk as they make their way to take the "family photo" during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) leaders' summit in the central Vietnamese city of Danang. (Xinhua/AFP)
MOSCOW, July 2 (Xinhua) -- Russian and American political will has succeeded in facilitating top-level contact between their leaders, and divergences should not get in the way of enhancing bilateral dialogue, the Kremlin said Monday.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov made the remarks while speaking of the upcoming meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his U.S. counterpart Donald Trump.
On Thursday, the Kremlin and the White House announced that Putin and Trump will hold a full-fledged summit in Finland's capital Helsinki on July 16. The two leaders are expected to discuss Russia-U.S. relations, national security and top international issues.
"Undoubtedly, Moscow and Washington have diametrically opposite positions on a number of issues. But as you can see political will prevailed, and we are becoming increasingly aware that such debated issues should not be an obstacle to improvement and enhancement of bilateral dialogue, in this case - at the highest level," Peskov was quoted as saying by Sputnik news agency.
In particular, the spokesman stressed that the issue of Russia's annexation of Crimea would not be up for discussion at the summit.
"The Russian president has repeatedly stated and explained to his interlocutors that the issue of Crimea cannot be and never will be on the agenda, as Crimea is an integral part of Russia," he said, adding that Moscow is open to dialogue and compromise on other issues.
The top-level summit between Moscow and Washington is widely seen as a signal of the two sides' willingness to start mending their worsening relations.
The summit may last for several hours with the two presidents having a tete-a-tete in the middle of the day and then together with their delegations, according to the Kremlin.