Russian President Vladimir Putin assured U.S. President Donald Trump in Helsinki on July 16 that Russia will not cut Ukraine out of a lucrative gas transit deal once its contentious Nord Stream 2 pipeline is complete.
The two leaders met one-on-one for nearly two hours on July 16. Putin told reporters that Trump brought up Nord Stream 2 during the meeting. The project, which is under construction, is an expansion of the world’s longest undersea pipeline, which links Russia and Germany.
