The Latest: Trump, Putin meeting privately in Helsinki
President
The two leaders entered the Gothic Hall with serious expressions, moving quickly to two ornate wooden chairs set before American and Russian flags. Trump sat upright as Putin appeared to lounge in his chair.
Trump deferred to Putin to make opening remarks, nodding along as his comments in Russian were translated. Trump predicted that the pair will have an "extraordinary relationship."
Trump initiated a brief handshake with Putin, as the assembled press jostled to capture the moment.
Putin appeared to smirk as Trump ignored shouted questions about whether he would warn the Russian leader against meddling in the 2018 midterm elections.
The summit between President
Abortion-rights activists are dressed in artificially bulging bellies and Trump masks. Anti-fascist protesters are bearing signs with expletive-laden insults. Other demonstrations involve free traders, anti-war Ukrainians and gay rights supporters.
Some demonstrators stayed near police barriers to try to register their complaints as the leaders sped by to the site of Monday's summit at
Others marched by
The demonstrations are happening as Trump and Putin meet for their high-profile one-on-one meeting in
President
Trump says the two countries have "great opportunities," saying they have not been getting along for the past few years. He says he thinks they can have an "extraordinary relationship."
He says their discussions will involve trade, the military, missiles, nuclear weapons and
The two leaders were seated together in a room adorned by American and Russian flags at the
The meeting started about 45 minutes late following Putin's delayed arrival to
Russian President
Putin revealed little about his agenda in terse remarks at the start of talks with Trump in
While Trump spoke more extensively amid incessant clicks of cameras, Putin said only that "the time has come to talk thoroughly about bilateral relations as well as various hotspots in the world." He called the meeting part of "continued constant contacts" between the men.
Putin looked serious but smirked when journalists asked Trump about Russian meddling in the
He and Trump shook hands briefly and headed into talks, which are being closely watched around the world.
President
Putin arrived minutes earlier at the palace in
Monday's meeting is being closely watched on both sides of the
Trump says he hopes for better relations with the Russian leader. He faces bipartisan skepticism in
President
Putin first used the Kortezh limousine during his inauguration in May but had never taken it abroad until now. Putin landed in
The use of the Kortezh could be a show of Russian pride to counter the
Putin's motorcade included several other vehicles of the same Kortezh, or Aurus family.
President
Putin's plane touched down in
In the past, Putin was late for meetings with
In 2014, he was hours late for meeting German
Often seen as a trick to throw his interlocutors off balance, Putin's tardy ways appear to be more of a personal trait than a well-calculated strategy.
Russian President
Ahead of Monday's meeting, Kremlin spokesman
He said European countries shouldn't be worried about a possible
Peskov said the Russian leader respects Trump's "America first" stance because Putin puts
Russian officials say Putin is expected to reiterate denials of meddling in the 2016 U.S. presidential campaign.
Haukio is the wife of Sauli Niinistö (SAW-lee KNEE-nes-tuh), the president of
The first ladies met separately over breakfast while their husbands held talks.
Meanwhile, the Finnish tabloid Iltalehti took the American first lady to task with a front-page photo tweaking her for an alleged "breach of etiquette" because she walked off of Air Force One in front of
Daily Helsingin Sanomat has placed advertisements around
The Russian in one of the black and white ads translates to: "Unpleasant things will happen to journalists who ask Putin questions."
An English version for Trump said: "Mr. President, welcome to the land of free press."
Trump regularly berates some news outlets as purveyors of "fake news." Putin is regarded as creating a culture of violence that has led to the killing of some Russian journalists.
The
On Sunday, President
Trump is meeting with
President
Trump made the brief prediction Monday at a breakfast at
He was meeting with
Trump thanked his Finnish counterpart for hosting the summit in
Trump was a destabilizing presence at
President
Trump has arrived at the the Mäntyniemi Residence in
The leaders were seen surveying the view from a small balcony before sitting down for breakfast.
Trump will then be returning to his hotel before heading to the presidential palace for his highly anticipated talks with Putin.
President
Newspaper Komsomolskaya Pravda dismissed the
Commentators on popular Sunday night talk show "Vecher" or "Evening" said Putin goes into Monday's summit in
They brushed off new indictments of Russians accused of hacking the 2016 U.S. presidential campaign.
President
Trump in a tweet is blaming the hostilities on "many years of
That's Trump's favorite derogatory term for the special counsel investigation into Russian election meddling and possible ties to his campaign that has already led to a slew of indictments, including of a dozen Russian intelligence officers last week.
Trump is also once again blaming his predecessor,
He says Obama "thought that Crooked Hillary was going to win the election," so he did "NOTHING" about it when informed by the FBI.
President
Trump rocked a
But Trump says in a tweet that he's received "many calls from leaders of
Trump says, "We had a truly great Summit" and claims it was "inaccurately covered by much of the media."
Foreign policy observers will be watching to see whether Trump has kinder words for Putin in
Tusk was speaking Monday in
Of the summit, Tusk said: "We are all aware of the fact that the architecture of the world is changing before our very eyes and it is our common responsibility to make it a change for the better."
Tusk said
President
Their summit Monday in
The meeting was condemned in advance by an assortment of members of
Undeterred, the American president is set to go face-to-face with Putin, the authoritarian leader for whom he has expressed admiration.
Questions are swirling about whether Trump will sharply rebuke his Russian counterpart for the election meddling that prompted a special counsel probe.
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