Trump: Meeting With Putin a ‘Good Start’
HELSINKI (Dispatches) -- U.S. President Donald Trump described his one-on-one meeting with Russia's Vladimir Putin as a "good start" Monday.
Trump made the brief remarks in front of reporters, at a conference table surrounded by top officials at the start of a "working lunch" that began after he and Putin met behind closed doors for two hours with only their interpreters.
It followed more than two hours of one-on-one discussions involving just the U.S. and Russian leaders, with only translators present. The White House had scheduled 90 minutes for that meeting.
Trump was joined at the luncheon by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, U.S. Ambassador to Russia Jon Huntsman and other top aides. After the lunch, Trump and Putin appeared for a joint news conference in Helsinki.
The U.S. president praised the Russian leader's hosting of the World Cup, which ended on Sunday, as well as the Russian national team's performance.
Trump said: "Frankly we have not been getting along very well for the last number of years. I've been here not too long, but it's getting close to two years.
"But I think we will end up having an extraordinary relationship. I hope so,” he said.
Trump had said the leaders’ discussions would cover trade, the military, missiles, nuclear, China – "our mutual friend, President Xi” – but did not mention election interference.
Trump repeated a sentiment he often expressed during his presidential campaign: "Getting along with Russia is a good thing, not a bad thing.” He added that the "world wants to see us getting along”.
The U.S. and Russia were the "two great nuclear powers”, Trump added. "We have 90% of the nuclear and that’s not a good thing, that’s a bad thing, and I think we hopefully can do something about that because it’s not a positive force, it’s a negative force, so we’ll be talking about that among other things,” he said.
Wearing a blue suit, white shirt and red tie, the U.S. president shook Putin’s hand and ignored shouted questions about election interference, at which the Russian leader reportedly smirked.
A tweet issued by Trump earlier in the day also set back hopes that he might press the issue. Apparently dismissing the cold war, when the superpowers stood on the brink of nuclear conflict, he wrote: "Our relationship with Russia has NEVER been worse thanks to many years of U.S. foolishness and stupidity and now, the Rigged Witch Hunt!”
The Russian foreign ministry tweeted in response: "We agree.”
Trump made the brief remarks in front of reporters, at a conference table surrounded by top officials at the start of a "working lunch" that began after he and Putin met behind closed doors for two hours with only their interpreters.
It followed more than two hours of one-on-one discussions involving just the U.S. and Russian leaders, with only translators present. The White House had scheduled 90 minutes for that meeting.
Trump was joined at the luncheon by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, U.S. Ambassador to Russia Jon Huntsman and other top aides. After the lunch, Trump and Putin appeared for a joint news conference in Helsinki.
The U.S. president praised the Russian leader's hosting of the World Cup, which ended on Sunday, as well as the Russian national team's performance.
Trump said: "Frankly we have not been getting along very well for the last number of years. I've been here not too long, but it's getting close to two years.
"But I think we will end up having an extraordinary relationship. I hope so,” he said.
Trump had said the leaders’ discussions would cover trade, the military, missiles, nuclear, China – "our mutual friend, President Xi” – but did not mention election interference.
Trump repeated a sentiment he often expressed during his presidential campaign: "Getting along with Russia is a good thing, not a bad thing.” He added that the "world wants to see us getting along”.
The U.S. and Russia were the "two great nuclear powers”, Trump added. "We have 90% of the nuclear and that’s not a good thing, that’s a bad thing, and I think we hopefully can do something about that because it’s not a positive force, it’s a negative force, so we’ll be talking about that among other things,” he said.
Wearing a blue suit, white shirt and red tie, the U.S. president shook Putin’s hand and ignored shouted questions about election interference, at which the Russian leader reportedly smirked.
A tweet issued by Trump earlier in the day also set back hopes that he might press the issue. Apparently dismissing the cold war, when the superpowers stood on the brink of nuclear conflict, he wrote: "Our relationship with Russia has NEVER been worse thanks to many years of U.S. foolishness and stupidity and now, the Rigged Witch Hunt!”
The Russian foreign ministry tweeted in response: "We agree.”