Putin affirms never interfered in US election

Trump refuses to support US intelligence

Russian President Vladimir Putin has denied that his country interfered in the 2016 US election. Meanwhile, US intelligence agencies have firmly asserted that the Russians did. Mr. Trump has refused to support the US intelligence community's assessment that Russia interfered in the election, saying that Putin was "very strong and very determined" in his denial. Instead, the US president has repeatedly questioned the Democratic National Committee's email server and Hillary Clinton's lost emails.

Trump: Relations with Russia have changed 4 hours ago

US President Trump said his meeting with his Russian counterpart Putin had significantly improved relations between the two countries. He said that while US-Russia relations “have never been worse,” he now believes that “has changed” after his summit with Putin.

“Our relationship has never been worse. But that changed about four hours ago. I really believe that,” Trump said.

Trump also asserted that he believed diplomacy with Russia, while perhaps politically unpopular, was necessary. “Nothing would be easier than refusing to meet, refusing to engage,” Trump said. “But that would accomplish nothing.”

Trump addresses election interference, claims Putin has “interesting ideas”

Trump said he raised the issue of election interference in his meeting with Putin, a subject he said Putin “had an interesting idea about.”

“I felt this was a message best delivered directly,” Trump said.

The US president said the two leaders also discussed nuclear proliferation, North Korea's denuclearization, and radical Islamic terrorism.

Trump: Putin is a “good competitor”

A reporter at the press conference asked Trump about his comments describing President Putin as a “competitor.” Trump replied: “I call him a competitor, and he’s a good competitor. I think the word competitor is a compliment.”

Both the US and Russia are responsible for the deterioration of relations.

The US President affirmed that he considered both the US and Russia responsible for the breakdown in bilateral relations.

“I think both countries are responsible. I think the United States was foolish. We were both foolish,” Trump said. “We should have had this conversation a long time ago. I think we are both at fault. I think the United States is now moving forward with Russia.”

Trump asserted that he felt the US and Russia “both made some mistakes”.

The US leader once again criticized the US special prosecutor's investigation into possible Russian interference in the 2016 election as "a disaster for our country." "I think the investigation is a disaster for our country. I think it's driving us (the US and Russia) apart," Trump said.

Trump: No collusion with Russia

Trump again insisted there was no collusion and that he ran a “clean campaign.” “There was absolutely no collusion. Everybody knows that,” Trump said.

He asserted that special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 US election had a "negative impact" on US-Russia relations.

“What's going on with that investigation is ridiculous,” Trump said.

The US President said he also discussed with Russian President Putin that “there was no collusion, no conspiracy”.

Putin to consider charges against 12 Russian spies

President Putin said he would consider extraditing 12 Russians charged by a US court last week, but added that he did not know the full scope of the issue.

“I don’t know the full situation. President Trump mentioned this issue. I will look into it,” Putin said through an interpreter.

Earlier, the US Department of Justice on July 13 announced charges against 12 Russian citizens, part of special prosecutor Robert Mueller's investigation into possible Russian interference in the 2016 US election, accusing them of participating in a "long-term effort" to attack the emails and computer systems of the Democratic Party.

Start the press conference

The Guardian news agency said the joint press conference between Trump and Putin began at around 6:00 p.m. local time.

Putin began his speech by asserting that the Cold War was a thing of the past. “Today both Russia and the United States face a completely new set of challenges,” he said.

Putin said that during the talks they outlined “the first steps to improve these relations and restore an acceptable level of trust”.

CNN also reported that Putin described the meeting with Trump as frank and practical. He affirmed that the meeting was successful and they had "productive negotiations".

However, Putin also acknowledged that US-Russia relations are complicated. “Everyone sees clearly that bilateral relations are going through a difficult period,” Putin said. “However, these obstacles, the current tension, the tense atmosphere, basically have no significant reasons behind them.”

The Russian leader also discussed counterterrorism and cybersecurity.

Putin said that Russian and US interests do not always “align”, but “there is a lot of overlap”. He spoke about Syria and how to return migrants to their homeland, as well as how the US and Russia have exchanged information about their intervention there.

Putin said they were “glad” that problems with North Korea were “beginning to be resolved”.

Putin: Russia has never interfered in US elections

Standing next to US President Donald Trump at a press conference in Helsinki, Russian President Vladimir Putin affirmed that Russia “has never interfered” in US affairs, including the 2016 presidential election.

Putin said Trump raised the issue at the meeting, just as the US leader had promised.

“Once again, President Trump raised the issue of so-called Russian interference in the US elections,” Putin said. “I must repeat what I have said several times, including in our personal contacts, that the Russian state has never interfered and will not interfere in the internal affairs of the United States, including the election process.”

Trump: “Very good start”

According to the Guardian, White House correspondent Annie Karni said Trump answered a question after concluding his one-on-one meeting with Putin, in which Trump affirmed that the meeting was a “very good start.”

Karni said a White House spokesman would not confirm that the meeting lasted 2 hours and 10 minutes, as many sources have reported.

Trump - Putin have a late lunch

CNN aired footage showing Trump and Putin sitting down to a late lunch with six aides each.

As expected, Trump's side included US Ambassador to Russia Jon Huntsman; Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, White House Chief of Staff John Kelly, National Security Advisor John Bolton and Russia expert and Trump advisor Fiona Hill.

Putin's six aides include spokesman Dmitry Petrov and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.

Photo: AP

Revealing the woman who interpreted for Trump

A White House official confirmed to CNN on July 16 that President Trump had his own interpreter during the meeting with President Putin. The interpreter was Ms. Marina Gross, who has worked as an interpreter for the US State Department and other government agencies. She accompanied First Lady Laura Bush to Sochi, Russia in 2008.

Trump, Putin take photo with host

The Finnish President's Office posted on Twitter a photo of the country's leader with Presidents Trump and Putin.

Finland has been the site of many important diplomatic meetings: its historical neutrality and close proximity to Russia made it a popular choice for Cold War summits.

The Trump-Putin meeting lasted more than 90 minutes.

The private meeting between Trump and Putin lasted for quite a long time. Journalists left the room where the two leaders met at 2:16 pm on July 16, supposedly to give Trump and Putin private space to talk for 90 minutes. At about 4 pm on the same day, the meeting had not ended.

The bilateral meeting between Trump and Putin at the G20 summit last year also lasted a long time. It was reported that First Lady Melania Trump had to point to her head during the meeting to remind Trump to stick to the plan.

Why Trump wants to meet Putin privately

The request came during initial discussions to arrange the meeting over the past few months, a US official said.

- Trump has asked for private time to better assess Putin himself and develop a relationship between the leaders (similar to the reason he asked for a private meeting with Kim Jong-un in Singapore).

- Trump has previously expressed anger at leaks of his meetings with foreign leaders and told aides he did not want sensitive information leaking from his meeting with Putin.

- Trump does not want aides who have a more hardline stance on Russia to interfere in his talks with Putin.

What did Putin say when he met Trump?

Vladimir Putin made brief remarks in Russian while posing for a photo with President Trump before the meeting.

Here is the content of the above statement:

“Mr. President, I am very pleased to see you here in Finland. We have been in regular contact by phone since our last meeting, and it is clearly time for a substantive conversation because there is so much going on in the world that we need to discuss.”

Lavrov and Pompeo hold parallel talks

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov are also holding talks in Helsinki.

This parallel meeting is the first meeting between the two sides since Mr. Pompeo was appointed as US Secretary of State.

President Trump just gave a brief speech before his private meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Here are some key points:

- About the 2018 Russia World Cup: “I want to congratulate you for having a truly great World Cup.”

- Regarding the content the two sides will discuss: "We have discussions on everything from trade to military to missiles, to nuclear, to China."

- On US-Russia relations: “I think we as two countries have opportunities together, and frankly we haven’t really gotten along very well over the last few years. I haven’t been here very long, but it’s been almost two years, and I think we’re going to end up having a great relationship.”

- On nuclear weapons: “I really think the world wants to see us have a good relationship. We are two nuclear superpowers. We have 90% of the nuclear, and that is not a good thing, that is not a good thing.”

Trump did not say whether he was referring to Russia's interference in the 2016 US election, which critics have called an act of war.

Putin also made some statements through an interpreter, but reporters present could not hear the content clearly.

Trump has no plans to stop Baltic exercises

President Trump held a private meeting with his advisers on the morning of July 16, which lasted longer than expected due to Putin's late arrival, and one item not on today's scheduled agenda was the suspension of military exercises in the Baltic region.

“At least that is the plan,” a US official told CNN, referring to exercises between the US and NATO.

This, of course, is one of the questions hanging over the summit, given Trump's surprise decision last month to halt military exercises on the Korean Peninsula after meeting with Kim Jong-un in Singapore.

But the above US official also confirmed that these contents could always change after the one-on-one meeting between Trump and Putin.

Days ago, Trump said he would not rule out stopping the exercises if Putin asked.

Trump arrives at the Presidential Palace to meet Putin

President Trump arrived at the Presidential Palace in Helsinki, Finland at 1:57 p.m. local time for a one-on-one meeting with Russian President Putin. The meeting was about an hour behind schedule.

Earlier, the motorcade carrying the Russian President arrived at the Finnish Presidential Palace. President Putin arrived at the “meeting point” in Helsinki 30 minutes later than scheduled. President Trump waited at the hotel and arrived after Mr. Putin.

The Trump - Putin meeting scheduled to start at 13:10 (local time) was adjusted to 13:20.

The summit is a high-stakes event, with leaders hoping to reverse the downward trend in relations between the two countries in recent years. A number of important issues, including Crimea, the war in Syria, North Korea and arms control agreements, are expected to be on the agenda.

US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin. Photo: Getty

The conference took place in the context of special prosecutor Robert Mueller investigating the possibility of Russian interference in the 2016 US election. The meeting on July 16 took place just days after the US Justice Department charged 12 Russian intelligence officials with hacking Democratic Party emails.

At this point, the information available suggests that the conference may proceed as follows:

- According to a statement from the Finnish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the conference, hosted by Finnish President Sauli Niinistö, will begin at around 1 p.m. local time (5 p.m. the same day Vietnam time). Mr. Niinistö will welcome Putin first, then Trump.

- The bilateral talks between Trump and Putin will take place at the Finnish Presidential Palace. Only interpreters will accompany the two main figures in the private meeting.

- After the discussions, the two leaders will sit down to lunch.

- When the talks conclude, Trump and Putin will hold a joint press conference, scheduled to take place at 8:30 p.m. (Vietnam time).

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