President Donald Trump says at the start of his summit with Russia’s President Vladimir Putin in Helsinki that he thinks “the world wants to see us get along.”
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 China, including their “mutual friend” China’s Xi Jingping. He did not mention Russia’s meddling in the U.S. election.
The two leaders were seated together in a room adorned by American and Russian flags at the Finnish Presidential Palace, separated by a small table.
The meeting started about 45 minutes late following Putin’s delayed arrival to Finland.
The summit, which consists of a one-on-one meeting and a larger working lunch, and will conclude with a joint news conference.
Monday’s meeting is being closely watched on both sides of the Atlantic, coming days after the U.S. Justice Department indicted 12 Russian military intelligence officers for their role in hacking Democratic entities during the 2016 presidential campaign.
Trump says he hopes for better relations with the Russian leader. He faces bipartisan skepticism in Washington that his desire for warming ties is displacing concerns over Russia’s annexation of Crimea and other destabilizing actions.
Meanwhile, Putin is using a newly designed Russian limousine abroad for the first time to get to the summit with President Trump.
Putin first used the Kortezh limousine during his inauguration in May but had never taken it abroad until now. Putin’s plane touched down in Helsinki 30 minutes later than planned, pushing back the start of his one-on-one talks with Trump.
The use of the Kortezh could be a show of Russian pride to counter the U.S. president’s world famous limousine known as “The Beast.”
Putin’s motorcade included several other vehicles of the same Kortezh, or Aurus family.
Putin late arrival is another display of the Russian’s leader famous lack of punctuality.
In the past, Putin was late for meetings with Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II and Pope Francis, among many others.
In 2014, he was hours late for meeting German Chancellor Angela Merkel, after his previous stop in Serbia lasted longer than usual.
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.
Source: AP