President Donald Trump and President Vladimir Putin arrive at the Finnish Palace for the summit

Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin arrived at the presidential palace in Helsinki for a long-awaited summit, hours after US President Trump blamed his country, and not Russian electoral interference or his annexation of Crimea, for a low point of US-Russian relations.

Trump said at the beginning of his summit with the Russian president that he thought "the world wants us to hear".

Trump said that Russia and the United States had "great opportunities", adding that they had not been heard for the past few years. He said that he thinks they can have an "extraordinary relationship".

He said their talks would involve trade, the army, missiles, nuclear weapons and China, including their "mutual friend", Chinese President Xi Jingping. did not mention the interference of Russia in the US elections. The two leaders sat together in a room decorated with American and Russian flags at the Finnish presidential palace, separated by a small table.

The meeting began about 45 minutes after the late arrival of Putin in Finland

. "Our relationship with Russia has never been worse," he said on Twitter, accusing "long years of American war." stupidity and stupidity and now, the witch hunt! "

The summit, which was closely watched by world capitals, was sentenced to By the members of Congress of the two sides after the US indictment last week of 12 Russian military intelligence officers accused of hacking the Democrats in the 2016 elections To help Trump's presidential campaign

Without getting to be discouraged, the American president had to face Putin, the authoritarian leader for whom he expressed his admiration.

Trump was welcomed at the palace by the Finnish president, Sauli Niinisto. 19659002] Putin arrived in Helsinki about half an hour late in another display of his famous lack of punctuality. Trump seemed to return the favor until Putin arrived at the palace before leaving his hotel.

The Russian leader was late for past meetings with the Pope and the Queen, among others.

Trump and his aides have repeatedly tried to lower expectations as to what the summit will accomplish. He told CBS News that he was "not expecting anything" from Putin, while his national security advisor said that the United States was not looking for "concrete deliverables."

Trump told reporters at a breakfast with Niinisto. the summit will go "well".

The meeting comes as questions revolve around whether Trump will publicly and roughly reprimand his Russian counterpart for the electoral interference that provoked a special council investigation that Trump has repeatedly labeled a "witch hunt"

. Trump continued to undermine the investigation and blamed his predecessor, Barack Obama, for failing to stop Russia's efforts to influence the 2016 election in favor of Trump. He claimed that "Obama had been informed by the FBI of Russian manipulation, he said that it could not happen, was not a big deal, and did nothing".

The Obama administration actually acted, including Putin himself and expelling nearly three dozen Russian diplomats, the United States declared to be intelligence agents and impose new sanctions

while Trump was eager to make a television report that will dominate the headlines with North Korea. The leader Kim Jong Last month, the main mission of the Kremlin was simply to make the summit happen.

Putin hopes that the meeting, a few hours after presiding over the finals of the football World Cup, will help him build personal ties with Trump. on areas where Moscow and Washington can find a common ground, like Syria.

The two leaders meet for the first time in the opulent gothic hall of the Finnish presidential palace, then continue their discussions with a gr oup of assistants and have lunch in the ice-cream gallery, once the hall of the throne of the emperor.

Leaders will conclude by asking questions at a joint press conference.

Observers worry that leaders will be alone at their first meeting, but for a pair of interpreters, which means there will be no witnesses confirming what was said during the conversation.

Putin probably will not aim at the official recognition of the annexation of Crimea by Russia in 2014 crippling US sanctions, aware that the US Congress would never allow such action. But he would welcome the symbolic end of Western demonstrations against Crimea and Moscow's attempts to destabilize traditional Western elections and alliances and norms

Trump unleashed his own attacks on these same institutions before arriving in Finland.

In an interview with CBS News that aired this weekend, Trump described the European Union, a group of nations that includes a lot of This attack on the alliance follows the appearance of Trump at a NATO summit in Brussels, where he severely criticizes traditional allies about "delinquent" defense spending to later confirm his commitment. to the military alliance that has long been a bulwark against Russian aggression.

"NATO is now strong and rich!" Trump wrote in a celebration tweet. During his lunch, he said that NATO had "never been more together" and stated that the summit had been "a bit hard at first, but it turned out to be the only one." 39; love. "

Before meeting Putin, who suppressed the free press, Trump unleashed further attacks on the media, including on Air Force One as he descended to Helsinki.

"Unfortunately, no matter how I do at the Summit, if I were given the big city of Moscow As a reward for all the sins and evils committed by Russia over the years, I would come back to the criticism that it was not enough – that I would have had St. Petersburg in addition! "Trump tweeted. "Much of our media is indeed the enemy of the people and all the Dems know how to resist and obstruct!"

"Russia has done nothing to deserve that we meet them this way," said Nina Jankowicz, She added that for Putin, "it's not just a PR shot, no matter what happens, Trump can not say anything and that would help to legitimize her work, "she added. The overflight of Helsinki is the specter of the 2016 electoral interference and the ongoing investigation of Special Adviser Robert Mueller on a possible collusion between Donald Trump's campaign leaders and Russia [19659002] Tour – that he would raise the issue of electoral interference with Putin while minimizing his impact.

"I do not think you'll have any" Gee, I did it, I did it. "Trump says invoking a TV detective." There will be no Perry Mason here, I do not think so, but you never know what's going on, is not it? "[19659002] Trump also said in CBS interview that he had given No question to ask Putin to extradite the dozen Russian military policemen indicted last week for charges related to target piracy

But after being questioned about it by his interviewer, Trump said, "I will certainly ask about it" although extradition is highly unlikely. no extradition treaty with Moscow and can not force the Russians to surrender their citizens The Russian Constitution also prohibits the surrender of citizens to foreign governments.

Putin will unambiguously reaffirm his refusal of any interference and will reject the US accusations as no fo

The Russian Foreign Ministry rejected last week 's indictment. comedy "staged by those who, in the United States, are trying to prevent the normalization of Russian-American relations, arguing that it contains no evidence to support the accusations.

On Syria, Moscow could help negotiate the withdrawal of Iranian forces and their relatives from Hezbollah alongside the Syrian border with Israel – a diplomatic blow that would reflect the carefully maintained relations between Russia and Israel and Iran

Putin and Trump spoke of the need to discuss arms control issues, they are unlikely to do quick business, and they can underline the importance of continuing discussions, paving the way for discussions at expert level. [19659002] – AP