Trump, Putin sit down to talk
The world wants to see us get along, says US president
PRESIDENT Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin opened their summit in Helsinki yesterday with serious expressions all around and the American president declaring that “the world wants to see us get along”. Trump laid out a list of topics for discussion that notably didn’t include Russian meddling in the 2016 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.”
Putin, for his part, said he and Trump had maintained regular contact by phone and meeting at international events, but “the time has come to have a thorough discussion on various international problems and sensitive issues”. He added, speaking through a translator: “There are quite a few of them for us to pay attention to.”
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. After Trump concluded his remarks, American 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.
“Our relationship with Russia has NEVER been worse,” Trump tweeted yesterday morning, blaming “many years of US foolishness and stupidity and now, the Rigged Witch Hunt!”
The summit was condemned in advance by members of Congress from both parties after the US indictment last week of 12 Russian military intelligence officers accused of hacking Democrats in the 2016 poll to help Trump’s presidential campaign.
Undeterred, the American president was set to go face to face with Putin, the authoritarian leader for whom he has expressed admiration.
Trump and his aides have repeatedly tried to lower expectations about what the summit will achieve. He told CBS News that he didn’t expect anything from Putin, while his national security adviser said the US wasn’t looking for any “concrete deliverables”. 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 said last week that he would raise the election-meddling issue with Putin, but said he didn’t expect Putin to budge on his denials.