Trump and Putin met for 2 hours one-on-one, had lunch, and hosted a press conference - here are the first photos to surface
The president and first lady Melania arrived in Helsinki Sunday evening after a four-day tour of the United Kingdom.
Onlookers greeted Trump's motorcade with American flags and a sign with Trump's campaign tagline on the way to Helsinki's Presidential Palace.
Source: White House press pool
Protest ads were hung around the city, including this one at a Helsinki bus stop that features a February headline from a Finnish newspaper. Trump tweeted the same phrase again on Sunday.
Sources: Business Insider Nordic, Twitter
Trump began the day blaming the US for the poor state of US-Russia relations, calling the federal investigation that recently indicted 12 Russian intelligence agents for efforts to interfere with the 2016 US presidential election a "witch hunt". Russia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs account liked Trump's tweet and retweeted it, adding "We agree".
Source: Business Insider
Finnish President Sauli Niinisto and his wife Jenni Haukio welcomed the president and first lady Melania Trump Monday morning at the Presidential Palace.
Source: White House press pool
The presidents' wives seem to have spent the day together, after which Melania thanked Haukio on Instagram for "good conversation about issues facing our nations."
Source: Instagram
Trump headed to a working breakfast with President Niinisto before his meeting with Putin.
Source: White House press pool
Putin kept Trump waiting nearly an hour as he arrived in Helsinki Monday at 1 p.m. local time, just 10 minutes before the scheduled start.
Source: Business Insider
Once Putin arrived, he posed for photographs with the Trumps and their hosts in the Presidential Palace before the meeting.
Source: White House press pool
Putin and Trump got to the meeting nearly an hour after was planned, and began with opening remarks to a full press pool.
Source: White House press pool
Trump ignored questions from the press about Russian election meddling, and didn't list it as a topic they would discuss in brief opening remarks.
Source: White House press pool
"We have not been getting along very well for the last number of years," Trump said. "...But I think we will have an extraordinary relationship. Getting along with Russia is a good thing, not a bad thing."
Source: White House press pool
Translators accompanied the leaders in the meetings, though Putin often reacted before the translation, clearly understanding Trump's English.
Source: White House press pool
Trump's opening remarks also congratulated Putin on hosting the World Cup, which he tweeted a day before to call "one of the best ever!"
Source: Business Insider
Trump and Putin ended the first public portion of the meeting with a handshake.
Then press left the room and the two world leaders began their one-on-one discussion, which lasted two hours.
Source: White House press pool
Trump and Putin then headed to lunch, flanked by their top aides, including US National Security adviser John Bolton, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, and Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergey Lavrov.
Trump told reporters he thought the meeting was a "very, very good start for everybody."
Source: White House press pool
Next up was a joint press conference. A man who identified himself as a journalist from the US-based publication The Nation was asked to leave the room, but re-entered to collect his things and held up a sign that said "nuclear weapon ban treaty".
Source: Business Insider
Security then forcibly removed the man, causing quite a commotion in the hall of the presidential palace.
Source: Business Insider
Trump and Putin then emerged to begin the first press conference between a US and Russian president in nearly a decade.
Source: Business Insider
Putin said Trump raised the issue of Russian meddling in the US election in their meeting and he denied any Russian involvement. "Russia never interfered and doesn’t plan to interfere in US domestic politics, including elections," Putin said.
Source: The Guardian
Trump said the leaders had "a very constructive day" and he was "sure we’ll be meeting again in the future, often."
Source: The Guardian
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