At the summit with Putin, Trump abandons confrontational rhetoric.

247 - The presidents of the United States, Donald Trump, and Russia, Vladimir Putin, began a meeting in Helsinki, Finland, on Monday (16). The conversation between the two leaders in the Gothic Hall of the Presidential Palace, which started late, will only have their interpreters as witnesses. They spoke to the press before the doors were closed and Trump shelved his confrontational rhetoric, even calling China a "common friend". Read the Sputnik Agency report on the start of the meeting:

Sputnik News Agency - The meeting between Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump began in the Finnish capital of Helsinki. Before being alone, the two leaders held an open negotiation session with media participation.

First of all, the US president congratulated his Russian counterpart for having successfully held the 2018 World Cup, which ended last Sunday (15) with France's victory.

Moving on to the meeting's agenda, Trump stated that he and Putin have many issues from a wide range of topics to discuss.

"The important thing is that we have many topics to discuss: from trade to defense issues, missiles, nuclear issues, relations with China — our mutual friend," said the US president at the start of the summit.

The President of the United States also expressed the opinion that Moscow and Washington have a great opportunity to improve relations.

"Our countries have a great opportunity to improve our relations. Our relations haven't been very good in recent years [...] but I believe we will end up having an extraordinary relationship," Trump commented before negotiating privately with Putin.

Continuing his speech, the US leader opined that improving relations between the two powers is in the interest of the entire world.

"I think the world wants to see that we, two nuclear powers, will get along well," he said.