Trump reaches a positive conclusion after meeting Putin

The two presidents at the meeting in the official residence of the Finnish president in Helsinki. (Photo: Reuters)

Key facts in brief

• Early in the afternoon, Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin met in Helsinki, the Finnish capital, for their first bilateral meeting. The private meeting lasted longer than expected followed by a working lunch followed by a press conference.
• Russia has always cooled expectations in recent days. On Monday, a Kremlin spokesman said he hoped for "full-fledged negotiations", which would improve bad relations a bit.
• Trump, on the other hand, tweeted shortly before the start that the relationship had never been worse. Blame is the previous government and the witch hunt against him. He meant the investigations against him because of his dubious relations with Russia.
• Putin and Trump both contested Russia's interference in the US presidential election. Putin called this absurdity unimaginable. Trump believes the Russian president rather than the ideas of his own intelligence services: he thinks Putin, who denied a very violent and strong Russian intervention.
• Trump called the talks a "good start". They have clearly improved relations between the United States and Russia.
• million. Putin mentions Syria and disarmament as subjects of discussion. In addition, he denies once more being ingested in the American election campaign
• . In the United States, the appearance of Trump in Helsinki has already provoked violent reactions. "A thoughtless, dangerous and weak" called a Republican senator, another spoke of "shameful."

This ticker has not been updated since the night of Tuesday. Below you will find our latest coverage of the Helsinki Summit:

02:34

Donald Trump defended his appearance at the meeting with Vladimir Putin against harsh critics of domestic politics . The two largest nuclear powers in the world could not only deal with the past. This Trump explained Monday night via Twitter. On the contrary, they should be facing each other now. It is a better future

19:35

The first reactions of the United States suggest that the behavior of Trump at the top will trigger a political storm. Two Republican senators were very critical. Arizona Senator Jeff Flake said: "I would never have thought that the day would come when our American president would be on the scene next to the Russian leader, accusing the United States of aggression This is a shame. "Lindsey Graham of South Carolina blamed Trump for not holding Putin responsible for the election campaign. Russia

The leader of the Democratic minority in the Senate, Chuck Schumer, accuses Trump of putting himself above the United States Stand on the side of Putin and against the US forces of defense American and US intelligence, was thoughtless, dangerous and weak, he wrote on Twitter.

US House of Representatives Speaker, Republican Paul Ryan, stressed that there is no doubt that Russia has been ingested in the elections.Trump must realize that "Russia is not our ally".

18:05

President Vladimir Putin then uses another question to urge the United States to become more involved in a peace settlement in eastern Ukraine. "The United States could be more determined and get Ukrainian leaders to do their job," Putin said. Both spoke in their four-faced conversation about the Minsk peace plan, which has until now been poorly implemented.

18:01

The next question is what Russia and the United States do for security in the Middle East. can do. Trump points out that they have close ties with Israel and would like to do more with Russia for security in Syria. In addition, he could also imagine increased humanitarian efforts. Putin says the United States has proposed a new dialogue on nuclear arms control issues. Russia and the United States, the largest nuclear powers in the world, have a special responsibility

17:56

Putin is asked if President Trump met him about the Annexation of Crimea. He replied that Trump remained faithful to the well-known American position. The United States considered that the annexation was illegal. Asked whether Russia has incriminating evidence of Donald Trump's past, Putin stresses that it is out of the question.

17:50

President Putin is asked whether he will extradite the 12 Russians who were indicted last Friday in the United States for meddling in the 2016 election campaign. Putin replies that he there is no evidence of Russian interference. President Trump then gives his full support to Putin and says that he believes the assurances of the Russian President in this matter.

17:47

A reporter asks the Tweet Trumps, according to which investigations by the special investigator Robert Mueller are responsible for the worsening of the US-Russian relationship. Trump refuses to criticize Russia. He had defeated in the Hillary Clinton loose election campaign. There was no collusion of any kind with Russia.

17:42

The two questions from the media then respond. The first question goes to Trump and revolves around the controversial Russian gas pipeline in Germany. Trump had severely criticized this pipeline. Trump reiterates that there is always a contrast between Washington and Moscow on this issue. Putin, on the other hand, tries to minimize the conflict. As the leading energy providers, the interests of the United States and Russia are not so different.

17:30

In his statement, Trump thanks the Finnish President, who organized this summit. He then congratulated Putin for the successful organization of the World Cup. He then states that the differences between the United States and Russia are known. These have been discussed in detail today. Unfortunately, relations between the two states are "as bad as ever". But that's changing now with this summit meeting. The dialogue with Moscow is important for him, he will continue, says Trump. This is not only good for the United States and Russia, but for the whole world.

17:24

After a working lunch, the two presidents go to the media. First, Vladimir Putin speaks. He welcomes the "open and confident atmosphere" talks "very successful and useful". You are in a difficult phase of bilateral relations. He spoke to Trump about nuclear weapons and nuclear disarmament. Another subject was Syria. Together, the United States and Russia could help refugees return to their country of origin. He also spoke to Trump about the alleged interference of the Russian election campaign in the United States. Putin explains: "The Russian state has never intervened and has never intended to intervene in US domestic affairs."

15:38

The conversation between Putin and Trump is over after two hours. The two presidents have now started their working lunch, flanked by their advisers. Trump told reporters that the meeting was "a very good start for all". The correspondent of the American television channel CBS posted a photo of the meeting on Twitter

15:19

The Helsinki police draw a first positive provisional conclusion. Both in terms of traffic and events, there were no major problems. Finnish negotiators also say that the conversation between Putin and Trump lasted longer than the agreed 90 minutes.

14:57

According to information from the local press pool, the following people from the US side will attend the working lunch following the four-faced conversation between Putin and Trump: Jon Huntsman, the US ambassador to Moscow, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, John Kelly, White House Chief of Staff, John Bolton, National Security Advisor, Fiona Hill, Trump Advisor, and Marina Gross, Translator. The Russian side includes Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.

On Monday, July 16, US President Trump and Russian President Kremlin Putin will meet for the first time in Helsinki in a purely bilateral framework. – After a working lunch, the two presidents present themselves to the media. (Photo: Lehtikuva / Antti Aimo-Koivisto / Reuters)

M. Putin greets "the open and confident atmosphere" talks "very successful and useful". You are in a difficult phase of bilateral relations. (Photo: Grigory Dukor / Reuters)

Trump mentions in his statement that relations between the two states are "as bad as ever". But that's changing now with this summit meeting. (Photo: Leonhard Foeger / Reuters)

After the two hour speech (90 minutes of agreement), the two presidents began their working lunch, supervised by their advisers. (Photo: Lehtikuva / Heikki Saukkomaa / Reuters)

There is a photo shoot before the interview. First of all, Putin seems reluctant to shake Trump's hand. (Photo: Kevin Lamarque / Reuters)

Then it works with the handshake. – According to Trump's statements before the meeting, discussions will include nuclear weapons, trade issues and relations with China (Photo: Kevin Lamarque / Reuters)

Even otherwise, body language says a lot about l & # 39; atmosphere. Among other things, the Russian annexation of Crimea and the interference in American domestic politics weighed on the relationship. (Photo: Lehtikuva / Heikki Saukkomaa / Reuters)

Russia may be more relaxed than the United States in this unpredictable encounter. The Kremlin does not expect revolutionary decisions, but more than beautiful words. (Photo: Sputnik / Alexei Nikolsky / Kremlin)

The private interview takes place at the presidential palace (right) and should take an hour and a half, after which there will be a press conference. – The security contingent is big. The Coast Guard is also waiting around the palace. (Image: Leonhard Foeger / Reuters)

Discussions began with a delay of 50 minutes. The reason was the late arrival of Putin. – The procession with the Russian representatives leaves the airport of Helsinki. (Image: Mauri Ratilainen / EPA)

Donald Trump and his wife Melania are greeted by Finnish President Sauli Niinistö and his wife Jenni Haukio. (Photo: Lehtikuva / Martti Kainulainen / Reuters)

Before the meeting with Putin, Trump and his companions are invited by Finnish President Niinistö to his residence for breakfast. V.r.n.l .: US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo; Trump; The US ambassador to Finland, Robert Frank Pence, and security advisor John Bolton. (Image: Kevin Lamarque / Reuters)

A few curious people gathered at the edge of the highway to spot the presidential motorcade. (1965) On Monday morning, Air Force One lands at Helsinki-Vantaa airport. (Photo: Lehtikuva / Heikki Saukkomaa / Reuters)

This US security service officer set up his observation post in one of the limousines. (Photo: Lehtikuva / Heikki Saukkomaa / Reuters)

The US president's fleet of vehicles and his entourage is ready. (Photo: Lehtikuva / Antti Aimo-Koivisto / Reuters)

Trump Putin's Summit in Helsinki

14:43

The German Foreign Minister responded to the summit meeting and Trump's controversial tweets on his launch Heiko Maas declares that Europe can no longer count on the White House. The consequence, which must be drawn from it, is closer cooperation.

13:32

President Vladimir Putin wants to talk for a long time with his US colleague on relations between Russia and the United States. They would be in regular contact by phone and would have met at international conferences, said Putin at the start of the much-awaited summit in Helsinki on Monday. "It is time to talk in detail about our bilateral relations and the pain points in the world.There are many," said Putin.

13:25

Donald Trump stressed the importance of A good relationship between his country and Russia when he began his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. "The world wants us to get along," Trump told Helsinki before meeting Putin in the presence of Kremlin leader: The talks will focus on nuclear weapons, trade issues and relations with China, noting that Russia and the United States hold 90% of the world's nuclear arsenal.

13: 21

President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin kicked off their long awaited summit in Helsinki.The heads of state arrived successively at the official residence of Finnish President Sauli Niinistö – firstly Putin, then Trump, with a delay of about 50 minutes due to the late arrival of Putin, Trump and Putin began a private conversation, accompanied only by interpreters and transcribers.