WASHINGTON, May 30 (RIA Novosti) - U.S. President George W. Bush will welcome his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin to his family's summer retreat in Maine on July 1-2, the White House said Wednesday.
At Walker's Point near the town of Kennebunkport, "the presidents will discuss a wide range of issues, including Iran, civil nuclear cooperation, and missile defense," a White House spokesman said.
"Cooperation between the United States and Russia is important in solving regional conflicts, stopping the spread of weapons of mass destruction, and combating terrorism and extremism," he said.
The meeting will come after the 33rd G8 summit in Heiligendamm, Germany, where the Russian and U.S. leaders are to hold bilateral talks.
The mansion at Kennebunkport has belonged to the Bush family for more than 100 years, having been acquired in the 19th century by the current president's great grandfather, St. Louis banker George H. Walker, who built the main house in 1903.
It was later sold to his daughter Dorothy Walker Bush and her husband, the current president's grandfather, Senator Prescott Bush.
The home, which still belongs to President Bush's father, George H. W. Bush, was known as the "summer White House" during the senior Bush's presidency, and has hosted guests such as Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev and British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, among others.
Until now, Putin has not visited Kennebunkport, having stayed at Camp David in Maryland when he visited in September 2003 and at Bush's ranch in Crawford, Texas in 2001.
