With a wink and a slouch respectively, US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin yesterday opened their summit as Trump said: “The world wants to see us get along.”
Trump laid out a list of topics for discussion that notably did not include Russian meddling in the 2016 US presidential election.
“We have not been getting along well for the last number of years,” Trump said, as he and Putin sat down at the Presidential Palace in Finland’s capital. “But I think we will end up having an extraordinary relationship... I really think the world wants to see us get along.”
Photo: AP
Putin, for his part, said he and Trump have maintained regular contact by telephone and meeting at international events, but “the time has come to have a thorough discussion on various international problems and sensitive issues.”
“There are quite a few of them for us to pay attention to,” he said.
Putin struck a casual pose during Trump’s remarks, slouching in his chair with his legs wide and eyes low. He nodded along to some of Trump’s remarks before they were translated, showcasing his fluency in English. Trump leaned forward in his chair, his hands tented in front of him and frequently glancing over at the Russian president. At one point, he shot Putin a wink.
After Trump concluded his remarks, US reporters shouted several questions about whether he would bring up election meddling during his discussions with Putin.
Trump did not respond; Putin appeared to smirk.
With that, the two leaders gave a quick handshake and their private meeting in the opulent Gothic Hall was under way. Just the two of them, each with a translator.
The summit began just hours after Trump blamed the US — and not Russian election meddling or its annexation of Crimea — for a low-point in US-Russia relations. The drama was playing out against a backdrop of fraying Western alliances, a new peak in the Russia investigation and fears that Moscow’s aggression might go unchallenged.
“Our relationship with Russia has NEVER been worse,” Trump tweeted yesterday, blaming “many years of US foolishness and stupidity and now, the Rigged Witch Hunt!”
The summit, which was being closely monitored by rattled world capitals, was condemned in advance by members of the US Congress from both parties after the US indictment last week of 12 Russian military intelligence officers accused of hacking Democrats in the 2016 election.
The summit started late because Putin arrived in Helsinki about a half-hour behind schedule in another display of the Russian leader’s famous lack of punctuality. Trump seemed to return the favor by waiting until Putin had arrived at the palace before leaving his hotel. Putin has been late for past meetings with the pope and British queen, among many others.
Trump and his aides have repeatedly tried to lower expectations about what the summit will achieve.
He told CBS News that he did not “expect anything” from Putin, while his national security adviser said the US was not looking for any “concrete deliverables.”
Trump told reporters during a breakfast yesterday with Finnish President Sauli Niinisto that he thought the summit would go “fine.”
Trump said he and Putin would discuss a range of issues, from trade to the military, along with missiles and China. Not mentioned: Election meddling or Syria.
Trump last week said that he would raise the election-meddling issue with Putin, but said he did not expect Putin to budge on his denials.
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